Beware the precautionary principle!

Educators have a long history of seeking to do what it best for their students... we study and study, and meet and meet, and make sure everyone's voice is heard, and then review our decisions and then implement them slowly. This is all done under the auspices of the precautionary principle.... proceed with precaution until you are certain that your choice is a good one.

That seemed a sound principle to guide planning when we worked in a world of stability... for centuries, we lived and worked in a print-dominated world so we could be relatively sure that as long as students were learning to read and write (and do math without calculators) they were learning skills that would prepare them for the world.

In the 21st century, however, that principle no longer applies. A leader who chooses to follow the precautionary principle is choosing to become stagnant and irrelevant.

An old middle school mentor of mine (he was old then and now I am old, so "old" apples in several senses of the term) suggested "ready, fire, aim" as an approach to being a proactive and energetic middle school teacher. Come up with an idea, implement it and then decide if it works or no and tweak it to make it better.

Today, I follow that advice always... I look around and find something that seems interesting and "cutting-edge" and I try it with students. They appreciate the chance to work with something that causes some trouble and they appreciate that I ask (and follow) their advice on what works and what doesn't.

I sure don't miss the days of planning, planning, planning and never acting!