Tom Whitby, educator and Edchat founder, once said that students
believe that education is “drill, kill and bubble fill.” Many
people still believe that education is about students sitting
back listening to the teacher tell them everything they will
ever need to know in life. There are times, especially in the
younger grades, when that is necessary, but it has to be
balanced with letting students find their own way as well.
Educators shouldn’t always shield students from the failure that
may teach them valuable lessons. If you ever watched “Bringing
Down the House” with Steve Martin and Queen Latifah, you
probably remember Queen Latifah’s line when she said, “Oh.
You’re one of those hard learners.” I was one of those hard
learners when I was young, and although it was painful at the
time, it helped prepare me for hardships that I now face as a
school leader. Some of my ideas fail, and they fail miserably,
but that only helps me better understand what I need to do in
the future. As we go through our day-to-day