(Published in my Tumblr account March 2013)
I really believe that everything happens for a purpose. No accidents, or coincidence but purpose. Last week when I was thinking, and sharing here that true collaboration is and must continue to become the norm for the education community I couldn’t help be notice this week’s Time magazine. The cover speaks of the elusive cure for cancer, but the article says something simply amazing.
“The hero scientist who defeats cancer will likely never exist.
No exalted individual, no victory celebration, no Marie Curie or Jonas Salk, who in 1955, after he created the first polio vaccine, was asked, So what’s next? Cancer?–as if a doctor finished with one disease could simply shift his attention to another, like a chef turning from the soup to the entrée.
Cancer doesn’t work that way. It’s not just one disease; it’s hundreds, potentially thousands. And not all cancers are caused by just one agent–a virus or bacterium that can be flushed and crushed. Cancer is an intricate and potentially…”
Yes! That’s it! It’s just not about one “magic” person, because cancer, much like our students are “hundreds, potentially thousands” of different organisms – creations unique as ___________!
As educators, as leaders of students or teams of teachers, we cannot expect to have all the answers. We will, and must deliver a better solution using all the tools. Those tools are found in each other! We are as unique as our students, fellow faculty, co-workers and parents. We must partner with people, no matter what their role, to meet the needs of those we are teaching so they may become life-long learners.
Because of the collaborative efforts of my own teachers, I’m a life-long learner. They never said I shouldn’t or couldn’t…although I’m sure they shook their heads a lot. They built in me a passion for doing my best, even though I didn’t always know what I was doing. They offered me the tools, taught me how to use them, and believed that one day I’d create something of my own. They built the foundation.
Now add all the “new” tools we have today and we live in an amazing time. Simply amazing…