16 years ago
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Change
I read somewhere that no one likes change except a baby with a wet diaper. I imagine that this is a timeless truth. For the baby, change means less irritation, a more comfortable setting (or should I say 'sitting'?), and possibly relief from a hefty load that has become quite burdensome to carry. For the rest of us, change often means the exact opposite-- irritability, discomfort, and an increased work load due to short timelines and multiple tasks on the high-priority list. During the past weeks, I have been reminded of how difficult change can often be. Though this fact of life is inevitable and expected, even small changes can cause much anxiety and frustration. It has been helpful to remember that the murky gray mist in the middle of change soon dissapates and usually brings something brighter and much better. Then, one looks back and reflects on the change with admiration-- remembering the tough times with stories and laughter; energized by new ideas and "ah ha's" generated along the way. During my ten years in the PDS department, I have learned to embrace and welcome change because the changes always offer a chance to grow, learn, develop or to move to a new level. It has been interesting to watch the various reactions to the many changes going on in our district, department, and divsion. In a educational setting, change certanly happens. How do you manage change?
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Wow Stephanie! Did you copy this from a book? You write so beautifully. Will check back to respond about how I manage change.
ReplyDeleteHappy Bosse's Day!
Susan,
ReplyDeleteThanks for your comment and for tuning in on the blog. It says a lot about you as an "agent for change" in our district. I look forward to hearing about how you manage change.
change can also be looked at through the lens of nature vs. nurture, right? there are those who just seem to inherently accept, look forward to and perhaps even instigate change because that is just part of who they are. then there are those who have learned to work with change while it might not be something that they are comfortable with...as you said in your post, change is going to happen so nurture people are those who have learned what it takes to be successful in changing times. note i didn't talk about those who don't fall into either category because more times than not, i think those people just aren't able to be successful. are there examples of people who don't change and succeed? i'm not talking about sticking to ideals or something like that, i'm talking about the change that is just part of growing and getting better.
ReplyDeleteI think how easy or difficult you adjust depends on your attitude. When I first came to America, I had to undergo a series of change – leaving my family, understanding the culture, roads and traffic tickets (haha.. I got a couple), language, weather, food, school kids…. it was frightful! I felt disoriented but knew that I had to overcome it by taking responsibility... meaning making a commitment to learn everything I could about your country and just being open-minded. I couldn’t hang on to what I was accustomed to or comfortable with because it didn’t make my situation any better.
ReplyDeleteThe same can be said in the line of work that we do. Yesterday, Robert suggested that we create online courses and ya’ll know how apprehensive we became at that meeting. We were encouraged to accept it with some degree of calmness and confidence, but without enough knowledge and structure, we just felt uncomfortable. Just remember though that our G/T team is already doing it and we should get inspiration from them. If they can do it, we all can do it too!
I guess when I think about change at work, it baffles me that educators are so resistant. I would think that since we are all teachers, we would have learned by now how to be flexible when it comes to change. You certainly have to be in the classroom! Last year we used "change" as our universal concept for our symposium. We have to keep this in mind: Change generates additional change. Change can be either positive/negative. Change is inevitable Change is necessary for growth. Change can be evolutionary or revolutionary.
ReplyDeleteIn Sharon's meeting,the article on "Shaping School Culture" was all about change. Every school that has become successful, CHANGED.
How do I personally handle change at work? I may be apprehensive, frustrated, scared. But in the long run, I feel like, just tell me what you want me to change and I will do it to the best of my ability. Thinking about change also makes me feel very philosophical. I leave you with a couple of my favorite quotes...
Education is essential to change, for education creates both new wants and the ability to satisfy them.HENRY STEELE COMMAGER
Here's one about technology by ALBERT EINSTEIN:
Technological change is like an axe in the hands of a pathological criminal. Interesting, huh?
Change is a natural process of life and without change there can be no growth. What a wonderful time we live in to be able to access so much information. When I think about the options teachers had only a few years ago and the options now. What a remarkable time we live in. Because of the availability of "technology" the boundaries are only limited by the imaginations of our students and teachers.
ReplyDeleteOne of the things I like about this job is that stretches me to new learning on a daily basis. So change for me is the nature of what we do. We help teachers and schools to embrace new practices and by doing so we are helping them change as well as changing ourselves.
ReplyDeleteI don’t have anything else to say other than to share the following quote:
It takes a lot of courage to release the familiar and seemingly secure, to embrace the new. But there is no real security in what is no longer meaningful. There is more security in the adventurous and exciting, for in movement there is life, and in change there is power. Alan Cohen
Like that quote. It's a keeper.
ReplyDeleteDitto Martin - love that quote as well. If we are honest with ourselves, we don't know exactly what circumstances in life will change tomorrow. In fact, we don't know what changes will occur later today. I try to wake up every morning and converse with God about his will for me that very day. Sometimes I'm not in total agreement with His decisions (LOL), but I do realize that the "master" plan is in His hands and inevitably; it's the better plan. When "change" happens in life, we have a choice to get bitter, or get better. The choice is ours daily!
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