Developing a Beginner’s Mind: Apple Educator Leadership Institute 2012, Toronto

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“Think ‘Why not?’ ‘What if?’ not ‘Yes, but’ to new ideas.”

                                                   Nigel Barlow

I sat in the hotel conference room staring at the blue velvet curtains at the back of the stage.

It’s a crisp autumn day and I’m at the Hilton for three days of high-octane immersion at the AELI 2012.  I’m looking forward to what’s billed to be an interactive gathering of Canadian educators dedicated to furthering innovative learning in their schools.  We’re here to learn how mobile technology can personalize learning and transform learning into a more engaging experience inside the classroom and out.

Enter Nigel Barlow, our keynote speaker and focus for the conference.  He will tell us why we’re here.

He’s the English author of Re-Think: How to Think Differently.  He is wry, spry, dry and razor sharp.  He has my attention. The room grows quiet.

His first pitch is a fastball.  Cultivate curiosity.

“You must develop a beginner’s mind. Ask, ‘why not?’ and ‘What if?’ when presented with ideas. Learn to think beyond the tendency of ‘Yes, but…’.  Teach yourself ignorance, and allow someone to teach you something new.”

His message is strong, if not new; but not new is his point.  We have to re-learn it every day or we learn nothing.   Creativity and curiosity have always underpinned education, but we lose sight of them quickly as we become comfortable by what we believe we now “know”.

When I started teaching I could vividly see my curriculum, classroom and school with fresh eyes; now, years later, I still notice things around me but am less aware of the new opportunities in front of me.  “One month on the job, and you’re blind.”  Experience can trump innovation, when the reverse should be true.  Always.

Tough to argue.

Behind the speaker on the platform, I could see the blue velvet curtains were shimmering.  They shimmered for me throughout the three-day conference.