Working At The Edge

Make School Different: Digital leadership & Transformation

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A silver lining

By Randy Ziegenfuss

Throughout all sectors of society, including education, we are feeling, in 2022, the tensions between two worldviews.

One worldview is systems-centered, emphasizing order, standardization and hierarchy; ambiguity is the enemy.

Another worldview is human-centered, emphasizing the individual as part of the whole; ambiguity is expected.

I wonder how the work our journey toward transforming education might actually benefit, even be accelerated, as a result of the chaos being created throughout society.

Might it be a good thing that education is feeling these tensions? Might the tension lead to more students, parents and families uncovering and confronting their own assumptions about the realities of the current dehumanizing model of schooling?

How might we who are working on school transformation approach these tensions in ways that reflect our more human-centered visions, desires, being?

We could believe that we are just part of what seems like a situation that can only spiral down into darker territory.

OR…we could embrace the messiness…the ambiguity...and be a model for how to untie these knots of conflict.

If we choose the later, we need educators….leaders of this movement willing to be OBJECTORS first, but not in the strident way we see so many objecting now.

But we also need leaders…and our learners should be a part of this as well..leaders who are skilled at enrolling others.

Enrollment is the art of creating conditions for others to see new possibilities…it’s not debating, arm-twisting or bullying others into believing something else.

Enrollment is creating the conditions that lead to individuals convincing themselves of what to do…in this case embracing the shift to a more human-centered system of schooling. A transformation.

I’m optimistic. I see the tensions we feel today…even the ugly ones…as a sign that we are on the right path.

Our movement is growing. And it will keep growing.

We are in a period of ambiguity, but a period of acceleration toward a more stable future.

Will you be the OBJECTOR? Will you be the OBJECTOR who takes action…and leads…enrolls others in this great and noble work?

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Randy Ziegenfuss
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Randy Ziegenfuss
I've retired from public education after 34 years, most recently as Superintendent. In addition to blogging at WorkingAtTheEdge.org, I co-host two podcasts at TLTalkRadio.org and ShiftYourParadigm.org. Learn more at https://workingattheedge.org/about/.
Randy Ziegenfuss
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Latest posts by Randy Ziegenfuss (see all)
  • A silver lining - January 22, 2022
  • Is our use of tech working against us? 🤔 - September 8, 2021
  • What’s NOT going to change in the next 10 years? 🤔 - September 7, 2021

Filed Under: Leadership, Learning

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About Working At The Edge:

My name is Randy Ziegenfuss, and I'm a retired public school superintendent and a life-long educator with over 34 years experience developing a passion for teaching, learning, leadership and technology. <read more...>

I first came across the phrase working at the edge while learning about the work of Marzano, et al. School Leadership That Works: From Research to Results. In this work, the researchers define 21 responsibilities of the school leader, one being change agent. A change agent is defined as one who is, "...willing to challenge school practices that have been in place for a long time and promoting the value of working at the edge of one's competence."

Randy Ziegenfuss, Ed.D.

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