Where the Wild Things Are #leadwild

Wild first grade writing 

Deep conversation. On a Sunday. Questions. 
This question.
Are we really leading
wildly
if we are talking about
something
we could have done
20 years ago?

Is it technology?
Is that what makes us
wild?

Is it just-right pedagogy?
The art and science of teaching and learning.
Is it creativity and collaboration?
Or inspiration?

What if the most powerful learning I see in a day
is written in pencil
in a notebook
on the floor and under a table by a 7 year-old?

Or on sentence strips
written in marker with the word
chameleon
spelled wrong
by a first grade zoologist.

Old school tools for future ready schools.

Whether learning or leading
where the wild things are really
found
are in the connections,
the ideas
that spread like wildfire
fueled by technology.

Technology that allows a Bee-bot dance 

coded by two fourth grade girls
in California

to be shared
anywhere
in the
world.

Live.

What was old is new
again
Kagan and Calkins and
brain-based strategies are now
remixed with rich academic language
and content
for a digital world.

New is the audience.
Sharing.
Shining a spotlight
on the work of kids and teachers.
Twitter and Voxer.
Storytellers of our time.

New are the leaders willing to connect with
a souped up walkie-talkie
to ask questions
to listen
to learn
to be inspired to try out an amazing idea the next
day.

New are the leaders who learn first
Fearless and thoughtful.
Reflecting in a public space
sharing struggles
and celebrations
in blog posts or a tweets or in stories of
only 7 

words.

Radical? In a way. 

Revolutionary? Maybe.
Relentless?
Yes. Leading wild means digging in and digging deep.
It means never giving up.
It means saying I don’t know
but I’ll try.

Learning has no destination.
We may never arrive, but we are on a journey.
Together.
Traveling a path where strangers are friends
and impossible is nothing.

Lead wild.