A Fearless Education

A Fearless Education is what I hope for- for myself and for my students.

I think most educators would agree about the importance of creating a classroom environment that feels safe and secure to students: a place where they can take risks, be willing to experiment, learn, and grow.

But how often do we, as teachers, take risks? How often do we move outside of our comfort zone or routine? Speaking for myself, I can say that I have definitely spent too much energy striving for perfection, and not nearly enough striving to attempt something challenging/ new/ unfamiliar.

Striving for perfection sounds like a nice idea. But it is actually extremely limiting. If you want to be perfect, you cannot, by definition, make mistakes. Not being able to make mistakes means you cannot learn. We know this for our students.

Instead of perfection, I would like to strive for excellence. I would like to let go of my fear of making mistakes, which is also a fear of failure. In order to really grow, I may have to try some things that will fail.  Yikes!

Ironically, I think that it is once I can let go of my fears that the fun can begin.  Once I can laugh at myself, and my mistakes, all that fear loses its power.

I want to start to have more fun in my job. I want to allow myself to make a mess now and again. I want to go out on a limb and stretch myself. I want to be free to explore, play, create and dream.

I'm sure it will help encourage my students to do the same.