inspirED to learn

“Man cannot discover new oceans unless he has the courage to lose sight of the shore” is a quote attributed to French author, Andre Gide . Acting with curiosity to learn something new or create change for the better often requires that you have the courage needed to move in a new direction. Innovation is a change that improves the outcome. Those that are innovators are curious to solve a problem, often one that they do not know exists, and they have the courage to follow a new path. Couros (2015) describes “innovation as a way of thinking to create something new and better.” Innovation empowers people to move in a different direction with a new perspective to overcome an obstacle. Innovation often includes a new technology but technology is not necessary for innovation to exist. Innovation is also not just integrating new technology just for the sake of doing something different. It is fine to try new things but if it does not clearly improve the situation than it cannot be considered...

The first time I watched Rita Pierson’s TED Talk titled “ Every Kid Needs a Champion” was at a Higher Education conference in Los Angeles in 2015. Like most of the other attendees at this conference it was my first time hearing Ms. Pierson’s message. It was filled with funny teaching anecdotes but the message was clear and struck a chord with everyone that if we wanted students to be successful, then we had to build a connection. I have listened to this talk several times since then and I am still drawn to Ms. Pierson’s passion, humor, and most importantly, the simplicity of her words to describe the significance of what it means to be an educator and that teaching and learning should bring joy. “The art of teaching is the art of assisting discovery” ( Mark Van Doren ). Prior to beginning my career as an educator in a 1 st Grade classroom, I had spent a lot of time playing sports and coaching sports. As a player and coach, I always valued the one-on-one relationships that team sports...