The Usefulness of Nonsense
"That's just the way it is Some things will never change That's just the way it is But don't you believe them"
Bruce Hornsby and The Range; The Way it Is
A while back I finished the book, The Search for Aliens: A Rough Guide to Life on Other Worlds by Piers Bizony. Don't laugh! I love this stuff. It inspires me. It makes me think. It encourages me to ask fruit-loopy questions without fear but above all, this topic humbles me. Why? For me I find the spiritual and scientific connections related to the plausibility of life elsewhere too compelling to ignore. It's just never squared with me that God would ONLY create life on our little blue planet. Why would such a Creator limit their talents to just one planet when billions upon billions (That's for you Sagan fans!) of celestial bodies roam the universe. But that's for another day.
On page 212 of this same book is a chapter titled The Usefulness of Nonsense. It begins in a way I think many of our best and most innovative minds in education reform are laboring to change public education. "When it comes to alien intelligences, countless supposedly academic papers by some of the best minds on Earth blur the boundaries between plausible ideas and speculative fancies." When talking about ed reform, I simply call these "What if?" ideas. Sometimes if our questions or ideas make no sense now, they more often than not turn into common sense solutions to existing problems in the future. It all starts with the "What if?" seed.
Where do I find some of the best "nonsense" to consider? Twitter for starts! After three years I'm no longer surprised at the wealth and variety of ideas being shared by the thousands of connected educators. I have a hunch that many of today's boldest efforts by innovatie teachers (@khurdhorst), principals (@cassas_jimmy) and ed hackers (B_Wagoner) (started out during a gathering at a pub, over lunch or during a team meeting, at a sporting event, while driving alone on a long stretch of highway or while on vacation with the family. Whenever the mind is freed of the known and comfortable, amazing things can happen. I was once told by a friend going through divorce that their spouse's "drunken words were sober thoughts." If this is even remotely true then it makes sense that the nonsensical ideas we share now must be based on some shred of unspoken truth, knowledge or simple gut intuition. One simply needs to look at the rise of the flipped classroom, standards-based reporting, MOOCS, Pinterest, Instagram, 1:1 schools, and social media in the classroom. Each of these had humble beginnings as someone's whimsical 'What-iffing".
So how can we as school leaders tap into the usefulness of nonsense?
Set up a "What if?" think-tank in your school. No agenda. No chairperson. Make it a place where anybody can attend and share their idea(s) with the expressed intent of getting and giving feedback in order to help one another grow their idea.
Implement PLCs. The nature of quality PLCs will encourage continued growth and improvement by stimulating new thinking to old problems.
Get fresh eyes! If you are a principal or lead teacher of a team, get some fresh eyes looking at the problem. Sometimes the solution is so obvious but our insistence on applying the same thinking to solve new problems clouds our creativity.
Talk to students. Informal lunchroom conversations are very revealing. Food to kids is like sodium pentothal! Give them some pizza and a soda and they will tell you anything and everything and...they are usually very insightful.
Take committees off campus. I've had great success with this strategy. Amazing how a change of scenery stirs new thinking.
Engage Social Media. Twitter has become my most preferred method of professional development. Start a hashtag (#) with your own question or idea. You'll be surprised at what's out there.
So! What will you "What if?" today?
It's Better in the Middle!
