The Ripple Effect: The obvious yet hidden opportunities disruption

This past weekend, while my son was at a back to school party at one his friends houses, I took my daughter out to a local lake for some fun in the sun. As we were wading around in water we saw many small fish from this years hatch in the shallows feeding. We slowly waded towards them to get a better view. However, as we moved in the water it caused ripples that obscured our view. As we moved around trying to get a better look at the fish, she kept saying 'The water is wavy.' It was not out of frustration that it obscured her view, but rather a voice of excitement of our ability to 'change' the water from a glass like surface into a rhythmic set of waves. I was amazed that she was just as interested in the effect we had on water as she had on getting closer to fish we were chasing.

This was also the first full week back for office staff and several of our teachers who are putting in time in the classrooms to get started off on the right foot. I couldn't help but let my mind wander back to school and some of the great things that are happening at Cozad Community Schools. As I pondered my daughters disregard for how the ripples obstructed our view, something dawned on me: How many times do we as adults set goals and work to achieve them and then get frustrated with the ripples that we create in our organizations when the path becomes blurred? Why is it that a soon to be 3 year old had the ability to appreciate the secondary beauty that was created from our efforts to see the fish.

We are in our 3rd year of a 1:1 initiative and our school, like many others, is undergoing a transformation in our teaching methodologies, beliefs and standard operating procedures. Having the opportunity to be part of this change has been empowering to say the least and has stoked the fire of my passion as an educator more than when I was a new teacher. This is not to say that the this change in our district has been swift, clean, and linear. Change is rarely ever any of those things in the realm of education. Countless times there have been ripples in our 'educational waters' as old practices clash with the newer ones. It has lead to times of disenchantment, frustration, and added stress to the outstanding teaching professionals we have in our district. It is my goal to help those who are resistant to change, see the positives in continual improvement.

The lessons I am taking away from today are:

• Progress is not clean but there will be opportunities when disruption happens. 
• A non-linear path to our goal provides opportunities to expand our influence. 
• We all have the power to create ripples and to stop creating ripples.

As excited as we all are to start the year, there will be ripples in all of our lives and the lives of our students. There will be students who misbehave, there will be staff who will be negative and criticize, and there will failures. Those things are all ripples that will happen in our water. Let us appreciate that those ripples can either deter us from continuing towards our goals or they can strengthen our resolve to focus our efforts and energy to reach our goals. The ripples that are created whenever change is effected is necessary to ensure the fidelity of our efforts.

I have always been one who tests the limits and creates ripples.  Ask my former teachers (many of whom I now work with like @wolfep or @dave_evertson) and they will tell you some 'good' stories. I like to think even though I have gained a few years in age and learned a few life lessons that I am still a disruptor, but that now I only disrupt for positive reasons. I also like to think that all those years of being a sometimes 'nonproductive' disruptor has given me some courage to challenge the status quo and stand up for what I believe. I am entering my 13th year of education and finally feel like I have enough experience to not only follow but also to lead.

As I have mentioned in other posts, I work for a school filled with great educators and administrators who have given me the professional leeway to work outside of the box. I am grateful for their willingness to let me fail and learn from those failures to achieve success. But after today's lesson from a soon to be 3 year old girl, I am going to make sure I appreciate the opportunities that come from the ripples in water of change. Here is to a year of embracing change to make this year the best it can be for our students.

Follow me on twitter @CHS_Mr_F