I think, for me, #1 sums it all up. In order for #2 to happen (I agree with Paula it’s controversial, but I agree with you that failure is sometimes the best teacher!) As far as letting teachers work on personal projects, this is by far the most important thing. Imagine a school where teachers were motivated to learn, to collaborate with each other and to feel like they had a purpose other than to spew out the core curriculum according to the scheduling and planning timeline to prepare kids for a test. If we want our students to be highly motivated learners, then our teachers need to be, too!

Thanks for a thought provoking post!

I want a job at your school. Wouldn’t it be fun to build one just the way we want it. I have to give my principal “props” though because she really encourages me to go for it and will get me anything I need if she can.

I liked point #6 the best. If teachers were given more time during their day to pursue a project that was meaningful to them I agree that morale would be a lot better. The biggest reason teachers give for not using Web 2.0 is that they don’t have enough time. I honesstly think that point #2 would never sit right with some teahcers. They still see themselves as the “sage on the stage” and therefore have to know everything about a tech tool or application before they would dare venture to use it in their classroom. Some of my greatest moments from last year happened when I failed miserably with some tech thing and one of my fourth graders “fixed” the problem.

Thanks for sharing your thoughts on leadership.