The Entrepreneurial Teacher
Wowza. Let’s pull out a picture from the archives. Damn. I looked pretty good back then. This is at least 10-years old because I can see the textbooks on the shelves: Mathpower 10, 11, or 12. It was good times back in the secondary math classroom. Now, I am looking through a lens from the outside in to the inside. I find myself curious.
I’ve seen Yong Zhao speak a few times about globalization, the entrepreneurial mindset, and paradigm shifts in the context of education and the 21st Century. I have also worked on BC’s New Curriculum as one of the Math K-9 Curriculum Developers to transform the Integrated Resource Packages (IRPs) into a document that would embrace the 21st Century Learner and Educated Citizen.
As we moved forward with a potential system shift in BC education, I remember the active “witch hunt” to find innovative, creative, and entrepreneurial teachers to make their teaching practice visible. Why the witch hunt? According to old policies, curriculum, and expectations, these teachers were “breaking the rules.” They were hiding. The doors were closed. Innovation was not widely accepted. The system thrived on compliance and sameness. We needed to see what these teachers were doing to visibly demonstrate to others in the system what was possible.
I was absolutely stoked about BC’s New Curriculum. It had Assessment for Learning (AFL) as an underpinning to the curriculum, Indigenous Worldviews embedded throughout the curriculum, and the flexibility to implement project-based/place-based/problem-based/ inquiry-based learning. Anything was possible, if you wanted it to be. When the K-9 Curriculum was officially launched in 2016/17, I was somewhat saddened that I was no longer in the classroom to try out some of these ideas as a secondary mathematics teacher. So, I did take the opportunity to try out some of the ideas like personalized learning, self-assessing core competencies, and student-led learning with my EDUC 471 course at Simon Fraser University. It was awesome!!!
What’s my point? I left teaching for lots of reasons. One of them was because I felt like I was “oozing out of my chair.” I was on the Assessment for Learning train in my Math 8-12 classes and loved it… but I wanted to do more. I hit a ceiling. There was no where to go. I wanted to explore and innovate more. I wanted to learn more… but how? Opportunities became limited when you felt like you’ve done it, mastered it, and wanted to move forward. With lots of other factors contributing to my decision, I left teaching. At the time, I felt like I had no options. I was “oozing out of my chair.” There was no person or thing that could get my oozing butt back into the chair. I was out.
I thought that my story was only my own. I believed I was alone on this journey. I felt isolated and devastated for years after I left my teaching practice. I love to teach, but my spirit was eroding. It got to the point where I was so unwilling to concede, lay-low, and comply so that I could just “fit in” and “do what I’m told.” I had to leave.
Why is quitting an option? It has come to my attention in recent weeks that there are others in the system who feel the same way. Pardon me??? I had mixed feelings. On the one hand, I was happy to learn that I was not alone. It wasn’t some freakish phenomena that I was only experiencing. On the other hand, I am deeply saddened that great teachers, passionate teachers… shall I say ENTREPRENEURIAL TEACHERS feel limited, restricted, or belittled such that quitting is a viable option.
How can this be? We are suppose to be moving towards INNOVATION, embracing CREATIVITY, and nourishing the ENTREPRENEURIAL spirit. How can we achieve this? We need to take risks, make mistakes, and try something so new that it may not have been done before. THIS IS EXCITING. What’s happening? The system (aka. people) are stuck. It’s scary. It’s foreign. It’s not permissible. I am absolutely angered and discouraged to hear this. Damn the system is resilient… for the wrong reasons. This strikes a cord with one of my core beliefs. WE cannot do what WE want for students if WE are unable or unwilling to do it for ourselves (at all levels). I am disappointed.
If we cannot recognize this flaw or oversight within our system, say goodbye to the good intentions of BC’s New Curriculum. This is a wonderful time to be an ENTREPRENEURIAL TEACHER in BC Education, yet this mindset is quickly being sabotaged with fear. That’s it. Fear is an ugly thing when it goes face-to-face with EGO. In the end, innovation gets questioned, extinguished, or misguided. Meh. I can feel the frustration. Yes, it is easy to keep doing what we are doing. Kids aren’t dying, right? Oh wait a minute… yes they are. You just can’t see it. We mistake it for misbehaviour or failure. And guess what, some teachers are dying too. Can we afford to lose these teachers? Can we afford to not innovate? I’m hoping your answers are NO.