Inspiring Innovators and World Changers

I was reading the article, Five Teens Who Changed the World, and it reminded me of one of the sections within my book, Take the L.E.A.P.: Ignite a Culture of Innovation. Malala is one of the five teens mentioned in the article, who I also share about in my book while speaking on risk taking. Malala, an activist for female education, took significant risks because of the passion and determination she felt for her cause. Now, here in 2019, we have Greta Thunberg turning heads and making waves as an environmental activist. Regardless of if you agree with her stance or not, I think we can all agree that her passion is palpable- and she’s an influential leader at just 16 years of age. The Global Goals for Sustainable Development are also amplifying the voices of our youth through the 17 goals in connection with the United Nations. There are so many children who feel compelled to speak up and stand up for what they believe in. Watch this video to learn more and feel the passion children exude for finding solutions to existing problems.

Kids Today

Although this level of leadership from our youth is incredibly unique, I notice other children from around the world making an impact, too. From an eighth grader who created a school closet to provide needy classmates with clothes and necessities, to a ten year old boy inventing a genius device to stop children in hot cars after his neighbor’s death, our kids really are doing some incredible things! 

Our kids are pretty spectacular. They are capable of great work and are more driven when they have ownership, in addition to feeling invested in something personal and meaningful. It makes me wonder what it would be like if all children had the opportunity to explore their interests, develop their strengths and passions, and had the support along the way. We need to ensure we are laying a foundation that supports all learners to thrive and that doesn’t mean just being successful with learning content. Every individual who steps out of their comfort zone to help others, raise awareness or take action on their ‘big idea,’ has the potential to make an impact. Isn’t that an opportunity we want to foster for all?

As educators, are we creating space for learners to identify their interests and develop passions? 

Are we fostering a culture that supports thoughtful risk taking and celebrating efforts to persevere through challenges or failure, just as much as we celebrate accomplishments? 

This is Your Moment, Step Out

Many of our learners may have their own big ideas while others haven’t even begun to consider what it is they’re passionate about. However, we can create opportunities for exploration and empower students through authentic and meaningful learning experiences. Makerspace, project and problem based learning are excellent for this purpose. We can approach this work through various avenues. My hope is that together, we will inspire our youth to identify what deeply matters to them so that they can engage in purposeful work that they’re passionate about- becoming world changers and innovators.

Making shifts can feel uncomfortable. Anytime we step beyond our comfort zone, we may feel unsteady about where we’re headed as the outcome may be uncertain. Especially if it means that we are turning more ownership over to learners. But, until we decide to take those thoughtful risks, we won’t know. If we ensure that we have structures in place such as daily routines, protocols for learning, processes for reflection, feedback and revision, etc., our students develop an understanding of what’s expected. Often, we blossom through the process. To demonstrate this in my book, I share about the filming of The Greatest Showman.

Excerpt from Take the L.E.A.P. Ignite a Culture of Innovation:

The hit movie The Greatest Showman is packed with emotionally charged songs full of passion and inspiration. One song, “This is Me,” sung by Keala Settle, has become incredibly popular. A YouTube video of the live behind-the-scenes recording of this anthem reveals the immense synergy felt amongst individuals who collaborated to bring this musical masterpiece to life. In an interview with director Michael Gracey and Settle, they share that the recording captured the very first time Settle sang, “This is Me,” as no one had heard her sing it before that moment. To this day it fascinates me to learn from the interview that Settle didn’t even want to come out from behind the music stand to sing in front of others. Having watched the movie and listened to the soundtrack numerous times, I initially struggled to look at Settle through a different lens. How could someone who possesses extraordinary talent and appears so confident feel uncomfortable and even scared to step out in front of others in the studio to shine?

I encourage you to take a moment and watch the video to gain the full context. Watch until the end to grasp the magnitude of their synergy and feel their emotion:

Gracey recalls encouraging her that day by saying, “Just step out because this is your moment, you have to step out into the ring metaphorically because that’s what you’re doing and you’ve got to stand in front of everyone and just belt it out.” In response, Settle explains, “And I didn’t want to. In fact, I stood behind the music stand until the day of that presentation. There was a moment in the song that I actually was so scared that I had to grab onto Hugh’s (Hugh Jackman) hand so that I had somebody to hold on to. Then, we got to the end of the number, and all I remember is a deafening, deafening applause.” Have you ever felt so scared or nervous to step out of your zone of comfort or embrace vulnerability? Fearing failure, ridicule, or perhaps the uneasiness of change?

I’m certain we’ve all felt this way at one time or another in life. Change is hard, but with change, we can make what may seem impossible, possible. Fear inhibits creativity, thus affecting how well we can spark a culture of innovation in our schools.

Within my book, I explore this scenario from different angles as well.

We all possess immense inner potential, and we have the choice to leverage it to take the L.E.A.P. and bring the very best learning opportunities to our students. Likewise, every child comes to us filled with promise and potential. It’s our obligation to inspire our learners and serve as guides as they navigate their journeys—not to push them through the system simply to consume content.

Rather than asking kids what they want to be when they grow up, let’s start asking questions like, “What purpose would you like to serve?” or “What impact would you like to have?” With this approach—and by helping them discover their interests and passions— we can help them find their purpose and tap into the unlimited potential within them. That’s how we will effect positive influence on the minds of our learners.

Inspire Learners to Blossom to their Fullest Potential

None of us can predict what the children we are entrusted with will become. And there are countless examples of how we need to be cautious not to underestimate the potential of any child or make assumptions about what they’ll become in life. Ideally, it would be awesome if we all exhibited passion for what we do at the magnitude that Malala, Thunburg and Settle all demonstrate. Imagine the synergy that would be felt between us and our learners! Those of you who do feel that passion, you know exactly what I’m talking about. To be clear, having passion doesn’t mean that we don’t have off days or that we can’t look forward to time off. We’re all human! What it means is that we’re in it with all our heart and challenge ourselves and inspire colleagues to grow beyond our comfort zone to make gradual shifts. We also want to spark passion within each of our learners. To inspire world changers and innovators, we need to reach the hearts of learners- what deeply matters to them? What do they care about? What difference or impact do they wish to have? Each day we have the opportunity to help kids make connections to their strengths and interests so that they too, can truly blossom to their fullest potential.

“It’s impossible,” said pride.

“It’s risky,” said experience.

“It’s pointless,” said reason.

“Give it a try,” whispered the heart.

—Unknown