“Complicated, Intense, and Demanding”

I am spent. You are spent. We are spent.

Individually as well as collectively there is little, if any margin, capacity. We have been and will continue to work at an unprecedented and unhealthy pace.

In a big way the pace of our work is attributed to being far behind in almost every aspect of organization, practice, and performance.

Added to being behind and the work to date to catch up, the expectations and demands of changes required by the federal and state have created even more demands on time, effort, and energy.

Yes, the new normal is the pace of blur with little or no time for rest, reflection, and recreation.

Truth is – it is not going to slow down. In fact, it is going to get more complicated, more intense, and more demanding.

Why complicated?

What is complicated is the reality of change – authentic change – transformative change.

Consider, most if not all of us want improvement, different results. But, most if not all of us don’t want to change.

This is not uncommon. Research is replete with studies of change initiatives, innovations, and reform that fail due to individuals not changing their beliefs, values, or norms.

The biggest problem associated with failure is that individuals attempt to fit change into what they currently know and can do.

However, change in practice requires a change in what we know and what we think.

The complication therefore with the change we must experience is that most if, not all, of what must change requires people to learn new approaches, align values and create new norms.

Make sense?

Not only have we been working to adopt new approaches to teaching and learning, the learning for all mission – no matter what it takes, and create new norms of rigor and high expectations for all to catch up but we must also accelerate these efforts to implement new requirements to meet new accountability standards. This is complicated.

Why intensity?

The intensity of transformation is magnified because of past performance or lack of. Akin to running a race, we did not start at the same place as everyone else but are expected to finish at the same time.

Staying with the racing metaphor, this is not a sprint. We must understand that we will get to that finish line not by spurts or short bursts. Rather, we will get to that finish line by focusing on what we control not on the other runners.

More demanding?

The first two – complicated and intense underpin demands.

Without hesitation the demands being placed on teachers, principals, and central office are without a rival.

The state of being overwhelmed in many ways is attributed to the challenges of learning

– learning new knowledge to learn new practices.

Learning for adults often requires unlearning or suspending what we know or have experienced to be open to new or different ways of thinking and doing.

It takes great effort to unlearn. It takes great discipline to suspend. Both are fatiguing.

Our present situation therefore is complicated, intense, and demanding – coalescing to create a state of blur as well as a state of exhaustion.

In the midst of this complicated, intense, and demanding work are the critics. Those who point fingers, cast blame, and make judgments.

Their intentions?

Not sure but I am clear in what they are not – they are not interested in improving, interested in achieving to before never imagined levels of performance, and certainly not interested in the future of children.

On the other hand, their intentions are indicative of a mindset that has not to date embraced the “different”, the “change if you will that must take place in thought and action.

Our work is indeed complicated, intense, and demanding.