Random Acts of Kindness at NCPS

By- Fisher Monahan, Abby Hamerton, Alex Rawn and Alison Golding

Did you know that Nov 4th was “Random Act of Kindness Day”? We certainly didn’t until a received a call from a community member, looking to spread kindness in our community. “Rak day” is an opportunity to do something kind for someone else, to appreciate others and to build community. Our anonymous donor asked that we pass along $300 to 3 students ($100 each). She asked that they use the money to perform acts of kindness, the only thing she asked was that they share about the experience with their fellow students.

Fisher’s RAK
When I was first chosen I was thinking about how I would spend the money. The first thing I thought about was the Georgian Triangle SPCA. Last year, I organized a fundraiser at school for “international cupcake day” benefiting the SPCA, then my principal and the students working on the fundraiser got to go visit and take a tour to see the services they provide for homeless and abandoned animals in our community. This is a charity that I really like to support so I decided to donate $30 to them. On the same day that we received the RAK money, a flyer for “Plan International” came in the mail. Plan International is an organization that works to end child poverty around the world. I looked at the items available to purchase and decided to pens $20 to buy medications for moms and their babies and $50 on two birth certificates (which can help protect against child labour, child marriage and child trafficking). The organization then matched the amount donated for the medications by 5x and the birth certificates 4x. My favourite was going to visit the SPCA. The lady at the desk took a picture on her own device because she was so impressed with what we were doing and we got to play with the cats which is always fun! This was a great experience and and motivated me to continue to do good things for other people!

Abby’s RAK
When I was first chosen I felt amazing because this stuff doesn't usually happen to me and I wondered why I was chosen to have the privilege to do this amazing act. I talked with my family and it took us about an hour to brainstorm, then come up with the perfect plan. The first thing that we did was go to the bank and get $30 worth of Toonies. Then we went on the city bus and paid for people’s bus fare as they entered the bus. It amazing to see the people’s faces light up as they got on the bus and we told them what we were doing. Then we went to the Salvation Army thrift store and gave them $20 toward their purchase. She was so happy couldn’t stop saying “thank you”. The last thing we did was went up to a young couple with a little baby and gave them $50 and told them to buy something they really needed. They were amazed and almost completely speechless! It was an amazing feeling. My favourite part was saying people’s faces and hearing them thank me, it made me feel great inside!

Check out this video of Abby's RAK!

Alex’s RAK
When I was first chosen for this activity I was really excited. I talked with my family about ideas and decided that first we would go to the Stayner Tim Hortons and donate $50 worth of coffee and food for the next customers. It was pretty cool because a family friend reported later that they were given a free coffee at Tim Hortons earlier that day! After that we talked to the Stayner food bank and asked what they needed, we went shopping and got $40 worth of spaghetti and macaroni because they were running low on those items. We got to tour the food bank. The coolest part was how all of the food was sorted into sections, kind of like a small grocery store. With $10 left to spend, we decided to support a local business by donating $10 to “Video Visions” where I often go to get pop and movies. They have awesome deals like “free popcorn Friday” so I thought it would be a nice thing to do to repay their kindness. Lastly, I decided to add an extra $5 of my own money that I donated to the library building fund. It felt really good to spread kindness in my community. A lot of people said “thank you”. I even got a thank you card from the Food Bank and there was a thank you post on social media from the manager at Tim Hortons. It was a great day and I learned that if you do good things in life, you get good things back in return.

Kindness Everyday
The message behind “Rak Day” is simple; do something nice for someone and ask nothing in return other than they pay it forward by doing something nice for someone else. The initiative doesn’t need to cost money and it also doesn’t have to be limited to one day a year.

Here are suggestions for some random acts of kindness that don’t cost a cent, that you can do any time:

- Holding a door open

- Saying something kind to someone

- Helping someone out in need 

- Donating time to a worthwhile cause (i.e. raking leaves for a neighbour, visiting a senior centre) 

Through this experience we learned that it feels just as good to give as it does to receive...maybe better. We encourage you to RAK up an act of kindness today!

Playing to Learn and Learning to Play: Game based learning in schools

In the summer, I attended three days of professional learning at an ETFO Summer Academy around, "Game Based Learning in the Classroom" and wanted to share some of my learnings and wonderings...

Game Based Learning vs. Gamification

Game Based Learning (GBL)- Game based learning involves intentional planning of games with defined learning outcomes which involve active participation, critical thinking, probing of and practicing of real world concepts. Within the context of game based learning,  experiences can be enabled that aren’t always possible in real life. Some of the key components of game based learning are that the games used have to have intentionality and are tailored to individual learners. 

Gamification- Gamification is the application of game design elements such as the acquisition of points, competition and rules of play to non-game concepts.  Some examples of gamification include when you use a promotional App (e.g.- Air Miles, Starbucks) to gather points and "win" free product, when you use a product like "Fitbit" to gain achievement badges, or using Apps like "Class Dojo" to shape desired behaviour. 

Both GBL and gamification have some positive implications for the world of education in that they are both hands on, give immediate feedback, encourage perseverance and are engaging for participants. However, from my point of view, GBL has a very distinctive upper hand over gamification.  Gamification is reward based (extrinsically motivating) where as GBL is intrinsically motivating.  A great analogy I heard in my course was around the concept of "edutainment" where the instructor compared gamification to "chocolate covered broccoli" explaining that by taking the concept of a worksheet and disguising it as a game, gamification makes the proverbial "broccoli" easier to swallow.  Since gamification often attempts to make a concept or behaviour that is not likeable more palatable or user friendly, in an education setting this implies both that education isn't fun and that games aren't educational, effectively insulting both education and gaming.  

Games are amazing at creating a sense of "place" and story...think of the possibility that this creates for learning, where the gamers act as "virtual citizens of the world".  Using this form of media to enter other cultures or historical events educates players through their play. Along these lines, there has been a paradigm shift over the past few years, where there have been increased conversations about how different groups of people are portrayed in games (check out the hashtag #gamergate). This is another excellent opportunity to create a entry points to discussions around diversity, equity, inclusion, media bias, human rights and digital citizenship with our students.   

I was also amazed to discover that there is a whole movement around "Gaming for Change" that incorporates concepts of social justice into gaming.  For more information, check out the website, Games for Change or this Ted Talk by Jane McGonigal, "Gaming can make a better world".  

Ways to use games in the classroom:

• During guided activities
• For independent practice as a balanced math or literacy centre. An fun example of a math website based on Ontario content that will be launching in the fall is TVO's mPower.
• On an interactive whiteboard as a whole class modeled activity or as a centre
• As a summative task to capture understanding
• As a provocation activity
• For home practice
• As a "minds on" activity at the beginning of a lesson or unit of study to activate prior knowledge and prepare for new learning, either independently, in small groups or as an entire class
• As a differentiated option for demonstration of knowledge (e.g.- Using Minecraft to build a and label a model of the digestive system v.s. drawing and labeling a picture)  
• To intentionally develop and gather information about learning skills and 21st century competencies in conjunction with curriculum content knowledge.  Using the concept of "breakout" games from Breakout Edu is one of my favourite ways to do this!
• Really, the possibilities are endless!

I would like to leave  you with one final thought.  I have often made the case for "pedagogy before technology", meaning that we should just be using tech for tech sake as something to be checked off a "to do" list.  The same case could also be applied to game based learning...I certainly don't want people to read this post and think that every academic task has to include gaming because it is engaging. However, after thinking a bit more about this topic, I feel that it is also worth asking, "What is it about this particular technology or game that is engaging or useful to the users?" "Is this something that can support or work into our teaching methods to support learning in a meaningful way?"  If so, then perhaps sometimes it can drive the pedagogy.  Just a bit of food for thought...happy gaming!

School Gardens: Can you dig it?

By Alison Golding (principal), Juliette Reynolds (parent volunteer), and Emily Worts (parent volunteer)

There is a phenomenon spreading across our country bringing gardens to our schools, inviting our children outside to learn about their connection with their food. No matter where a school is located, one thing every school has is outdoor space. It doesn’t matter if this space is green or asphalt, horizontal or vertical. Any outdoor space is a space where plants can grow and in the process teach students important lessons from the curriculum and beyond. The lessons from a school garden are multiple, from where our food comes from and how it’s grown, to stewardship for our planet and the concerns around mass food production. Students learn that the soil is alive and how to care for it. Gardens are also living laboratories from which interdisciplinary lessons can be drawn. A school garden is a dynamic classroom where children engage in a whole new way, they encourage children to be active participants!

Thanks to parent volunteers, the enthusiasm of school staff and students, a generous start up donation from Jerrico Industrial Maintenance as well as other community donations, we have been able to offer the rich experience of a school garden to our children in Creemore!

It all began a year ago, when the vision of a school garden began coming to life as students voted on naming the garden. The result of the naming process, “The Great Garden of Thunder” (the school’s logo is “Creemore Thunder”). The grade 8 class then class built our 9 raised beds and each class in the schools works with volunteers through the year to tend the vegetables, herbs and flowers!


Curriculum Connections

School gardens are inherently cross-curricular and can facilitate engaging and meaningful learning opportunities for students. The ideas are truly endless, but below are but a few ideas related to how school gardens connect to different areas of the elementary curriculum.

Math: Students can solve real life math problems related to measurement, volume and fractions, both through measuring plant growth and through the creation of recipes with the food that they grow.

Science: Lessons can include topics of soil structure, photosynthesis, compost and waste management, plant and animal life cycles through integration of bat houses, butterfly gardens, “bee hotels”, insect explorations and bird feeders. The use of indoor vertical gardens are another opportunity that can create year long opportunities for learning in colder climates.

Health and Physical Education: Gardens can contribute to daily physical activity through weeding, tilling, planting and harvesting which get children moving, bending, stretching and outside. Health lessons are a natural link to gardening related to healthy lifestyle choices, spending more time active in the outdoors and choosing healthy foods over junk food. Another timely trend in education is the idea of “mindfulness” and the garden creates an amazing backdrop for the practice of activities such as mindful breathing, an activity that helps students gain focus for subsequent learning.

Arts: This year, we have had some “Art in the garden days” where students paint the garden beds, decorate rocks, garden signs, bird feeders and picnic tables. On nice days, music classes can also take advantage of using the garden as a backdrop for playing Orff Instruments, recorders or ukuleles.

Language: The garden is a great method to engage students in procedural writing, whether it is through the creation of a “how to” guide for planting and harvesting or through the development of a recipe. Students can also participate in journal writing and non-fiction research. Lastly, there are many amazing literacy links to children's’ books, both fiction and non-fiction, that can be included garden lessons.

Social studies, History and Geography: Our Spring planting for next year’s harvest included planning for a Grade 3 “Pioneer” garden box in keeping with the curriculum expectations from that grade. As part of the pioneer garden, students are growing plants that can be used for food, medicine and dye. What an amazing way to make the curriculum come alive! There are also links to curriculum around the concepts of communities, community partners, the idea of local vs. imported, and land use.


Additional Benefits of School Gardens

• Lessons learned in the garden can span from Kindergarten all the way through high school.
• School gardens provide authentic, engaging and immersive learning experiences that help students make real world connections to curriculum expectations. 
• School gardens beautify the school yard and also help students to develop a sense of pride, respect and ownership for their school. 
• Researchers Graham, Beall, Lussier, McLaughlin & Zidenberg-Cherr (2005), found the following when studying school gardens, “These programs use a multidisciplinary approach to educating students and have been shown to increase test performance, attention, and enthusiasm for learning and to decrease discipline issues in the classroom.” (p. 150) 
• The school garden supports positive mental health promotion through the encouragement of a healthy lifestyle and access to spending time outdoors. At our school, there have also been more than a handful of instances where a student has been upset or sad and after a walk in the garden to pick some veggies and talk with a caring adult, the student is able to return to class focused and ready to learn. Students also gain self-confidence and a develop the sense of competence that comes along with the acquisition of new skills. 
• School gardens not only strengthen the school environment, by providing a collective space where students work side by side, but they can strengthen community bonds as they require support and knowledge from the broader community. Taking advantage of some of these opportunities can be particularly useful during winter months when there isn’t much actual “gardening” going on. In our community, there are partners eager to teach about topics such as biodynamic gardening, stewardship, food related to healing and nutrition, pollination, soil, worm composting, organic farming and making local food widely accessible. We also have a number of parent volunteers who are amazingly engaged in working with students on garden related activities. In terms of cross grade partnerships, we are fortunate to be able to partner with our local high school, Stayner Collegiate, who has an amazing greenhouse and has kindly started our seeds for us the past two years. Some of the students at our school have had opportunities to visit the high school and there are certainly a wealth of opportunities for cross-grade partnering both within our own school and for special activities in partnership with the high school. Lastly, we are extremely proud of our “Community Resource” shelf at the school where parents can sign out resources related to subjects including gardening so that activities th
  at can be carried over from school to their home gardens. 
• Garden-based learning learning activities naturally embed the development of character, learning skills, work habits and 21st century skills, helping students to develop traits such as focus, patience, collaborative skills, creativity, responsibility, teamwork, communication skills, citizenship and perseverance through solving problems. School gardens can even nurture traits such as compassion and empathy through growing and donating produce to local food banks or charitable causes. 
• School gardens not only cover multiple curriculum areas, but they also appeal to multiple learning styles. Looking at design and layout may appeal to students with strong visual spatial skills. Verbal-linguistic learners may be interested in documenting learning in the garden or promoting it within the community. Mathematical thinkers may enjoy the costing component. Planting, maintenance and harvest would appeal to the kinesthetic learners. Like the curriculum connections that can be made through school gardens, connections to multiple intelligences are also endlesss

“To plant a garden is to believe in tomorrow.” - Audrey Hepburn

TLAP Book Study: Week 5

Week 5- Pages 145-174

The Awkward Question, Where do I Start?, 

Finding A Crew

The Awkward Question

"Do you want to be safe and good or do you want to take a chance and be great?"- Jimmy Johnson

"Your greatness in the classroom doesn't negatively impact or inhibit anyone else's opportunity to be great. In fact, your greatness only enhances the opportunities and possibilities for others." (Burgess p. 145)

"By being great you are raising the bar...being your best possible self contributes to the school culture necessary to create the environment for greatness to flourish." (Burgess p.146)

"To ascend to the level of greatness, you have to be on fire with passion and enthusiasm.  Mediocrity is incapable of motivating...How could anyone be fired up about creating a lukewarm classroom environment where kids punch the clock, mostly behave and then file out the door...Teaching is a tough job filled with unbelievable hardships, hurdles and headaches.  Our profession has a notoriously high burnout rate,  Unless you find something big to care about, you won't make it...Suddenly it's easy to get out of bed in the morning because you are  motivated by a mighty purpose." (Burgess p. 147) 

"In these exciting times, we must be ready to take on the challenge of redefining greatness for a whole new generation of teachers and students." (Burgess p. 148)

In this chapter Burgess describes teaching using the analogy of the song, "Little Drummer Boy."  In the famous carol, Even though the little boy was too poor to bring a physical gift to honour baby Jesus he brought the gift of his talent.  Burgess then goes on to explain that we have to all find our personal "drum".  I have also heard this described as your "teaching superpower"...what is the personal strength you bring to the table that makes you unique?

Question #1- What is your teaching superpower?

"We have the ability to literally change the world" (Burgess p.149)

Where do I Start?

"Everyone who got to where they are had to begin where they were."- Richard Paul Evans 

In this chapter, Burgess talks about the five most common considerations that hold us back from taking our first step, which he describes as the most difficult part of the journey.  Below are these five reasons summarized with some advice from Burgess to help conquer them:

• Fear of failure: There is no growth without failure.  In order to bring any dream to reality, you have to experience the process of failure (often repeated) and show tenacity to persevere to reach your goal. 

• Believing you have to figure it all out before you begin: "Nobody is going to die if we experiment in the classroom and it doesn't work out...Unless you are constantly  climbing and striving to move forward, you are sliding backwards...You don't have to be able to see the top of the mountain to know that you can only get there by moving forward." (Burgess p. 158) 

• Perfectionism: Burgess explains that perfectionism, which is an impossible goal, can paralyze us. He uses the analogy of a wedding photographer who, if they waited for the perfect shot would never take any pictures.  Instead, the photographer, takes hundreds, even thousands of pictures, and in that process, finds many great ones.  The lesson, "Create freely, liberally and in great quantities." (Burgess p. 152) 

• Lack of Focus: Stephen Covey talks about putting the "big rocks" (priorities) in your jar of life first, then filling the remaining space in the jar with less important things.  "Realize that any time you say yes to something, you are saying no to something else. Learn to say yes to the significant, and no to the projects and activities that diminish the time and energy you need to fulfill your major purpose." (Burgess p.160) 

• Fear of criticism or ridicule: "You can fear it all you want...it's still coming." (Burgess p. 160) 

Question #2- Which of these is your greatest roadblock and what is one action that you will commit to in order to overcome it?

"The best way to overcome fear is to take action. The more action you take and the quicker you take it, the better." (Burgess p. 167) 

Finding A Crew

"All pirates travel with a crew; you can't sail, navigate, and fight battles all on your own. One of the most rewarding parts of teaching is the personal and professional relationships we develop on our voyage." (Burgess p. 169)

Burgess then goes on to describe the connections he has made and the learning he has experienced though attending conferences with like minded individuals as well as through social media. Over the past two years, these have also been the two most powerful collaborative experiences that have energized my own professional learning. 

"When a group of individual brains are coordinated and function in a spirit or Harmony, the increased energy created through that alliance, becomes available to every individual brain in the group." (Napoleon Hill- Think and Grow Rich)

"I believe that there is no single answer for how to fix our schools but that we should take the best ideas from everything that we can find." (Burgess p. 171)

Question #3 - How will you commit to making connections and finding or expanding your crew? 

Question #4 - How has this book made you a better teacher?

Question #5 - What is your post-TLAP next step?

TLAP Book Study: Week 4

Week 4- Pages 107-141

All the World is a Stage, Stand & Deliver, 
Advanced Tactics, Around the Edges 

All the World is a Stage

“Anything I can do to manipulate and control the environment is fair game . This is a tough business; I’m more than willing to take advantage of and influence everything around me to increase my students’ chances of success.” (Burgess p. 107)

In this chapter we learn about the following hooks:

• The interior design hook (transforming your room through lighting, decorations, furniture, etc.)
• The board message hook (writing a message on the board or projecting an image onto the screen that sparks curiosity, engaging them before the lesson even begins)
• The costume hook (accessorizing to enhance the presentation or teaching in character) 
• The props hook (what physical item can be added to the lesson?)
• The involved audience hook (involving students and making students feel like they are part of the lesson, not just bystanders) 
• The mystery bag hook (incorporating a visibly concealed item related to the lesson to build suspense and encourage questioning) 

Stand & Deliver

“All teachers are full time public speakers. In fact, I would venture to guess many teachers do more public speaking in their classroom than the vast majority of speakers do on the circuit...be intentional about honing your skills of engagement.” (Burgess p.117)

In this chapter, we learn the following six hooks that will help us develop our public speaking skills:

• The storytelling hook (using a captivating, high interest story to draw the students into the lesson) 
• The swimming with the sharks hook (using movement and proximity to break down the barrier between speaker and class) 
• The taboo hook (eliciting curiosity and interest by positioning a topic as if it is a secret or forbidden, even though it is not) 
• The mime hook (using the power of silence to deliver a message) 
• The teaser hook (sparking interest by promoting a lesson ahead of time)
• The backwards hook (presenting material out of sequence to encourage students to construct knowledge) 

Advanced Tactics

This chapter discusses the following three “advanced” hooks:

• The mission impossible hook (creating lesson where students are trying to decode clues to solve a mystery). I have recently been facilitating professional learning in this area, using the game-based learning platform of BreakoutEdu. If you haven't heard of it, take a moment to check them out! 
• The reality TV hook (again, using game based learning to create a ‘Survivor’ or ‘Amazing Race’ style lesson) 
• The techno whiz hook (leveraging the power of technology to empower students to take their learning beyond the school day, bridge gaps between school and the real world and gain global perspective). When creating lessons using technology, I like use the SAMR model as a framework to guide my practice.



https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5e/The_SAMR_Model.jpg 

“When used correctly, technology can enhance the effectiveness of your lesson, increase engagement and even strengthen relationships between the humans that comprise your class”. (Burgess p.128)

Around the Edges

“Students will do amazing things if you can design a class and environment that is positive and empowering. Rising up to and overcoming challenges, building lifetime relationships and foraging positive connections to school won’t directly result in better test scores. It will result in better people. Isn’t that what we’re really trying to accomplish” (Burgess p.138)

The last few hooks presented in this chapter can help put the “finishing touches” on a lesson:

• The contest hook (including a contest or challenge to build motivation) 
• The magic and the amazing hook (teaching an amazing skill that students can go home and share with others) 
• The chef hook (adding food or drinks to enhance a lesson, or just to create a positive atmosphere) 
• The mnemonic hook (pointing out patterns, ties to previous knowledge, or developing other memory retention aids to help students remember key material) 
• The extra-credit challenge hook (incorporating an intriguing way for students to extend their learning) 

“Education shouldn’t be about raising statistics. It should be about raising and fulfilling human potential.” (Burgess p. 141) 

I certainly agree with Burgess’ sentiment that striving for better scores should not be our only goal, but I would also add, that with a goal of helping our students to meet their potential in all areas, the outcome of increased scores inevitably often happens along the way.

Question #1- Which of the hooks discussed in this week’s reading have you successfully used?
Question #2- What is your next step? Which of the hooks discussed in this week’s reading do you want to try?

For anyone dropping by online, I would encourage you to join the conversation and share your thoughts by using the "comments" section of the blog.

Lessons from the "Uplifting Leadership" Congress

As part of a mentoring cohort that I am involved in through the Simcoe County District School Board, today I had the opportunity to attend a Leadership Congress. The congress, whose theme was "Uplifting Leadership," was attended by leaders from all areas of education including school administrators, facilities staff, office staff, human resources employees, members of the communications department, teachers and more.  It was refreshing to have the opportunity to come together with leaders from different 'silos' of education and to consider how the same leadership messages can be applied within all of our roles.  Here are a few images with captions that summarize my key takeaways from the sessions that I attended today.

The day began with Director Wallace welcoming the group and sharing the following quote to set the tone for the day... 

Author unknown. Image from behappy.me

Keynote Address: "The Mark of a Leader"
Doug Keeley @MarkofaLeader

What is the lens through which people see you? If you don't shape your image, someone else will.  https://pixabay.com/static/uploads/photo/2015/08/05/08/47/personal-875801_960_720.jpg

We all have a story to tell. Stories are the glue that bind us together as humans.  https://c2.staticflickr.com/8/7520/16044203109_e587afb08c_z.jpg

We only win as individuals when the whole team wins.
How do we inspire others to be their best?

Our best success comes from feeding spirit, imagination and heart.
What areas do you need to nurture vs.  what areas do you actually
spend most of your time nurturing?
Image by @A_J_Golding 

"Beyond the Tin Can Telephone"

Iain McMeekin

You need to want to hear feedback, no matter what that feedback may be. What do you like about working here?   What is one thing you would change? http://www.thebluediamondgallery.com/pictures/feedback.jpg

Make sure to appreciate those around you...
it doesn't have to be eloquent but it has to be heartfelt.
 https://pixabay.com/static/uploads/photo/2015/09/24/05/53/qualities-954789_960_720.jpg

Iain shared a practical and entertaining Ted Talk by Celeste Headlee: 
10 Ways to have a better conversation (worth the 12 minute view) 

"Thriving Through Action" 

Virginia Gingras @VirginiavsBruce

What are your top 3 priorities?
 Thinking about your top 3 priorities,
do your actions reflect those priorities? 

Our strength overplayed becomes our weakness.
Are you missing work life balance? 
Are you really good at taking care of others but do you provide the same care for yourself?  
We're really good at surviving but we need to thrive.
Don't forget about your dreams!http://www.pdpics.com/preview/preview33/6414-work-balance-life.jpg

Instead of sharing achievements, share how you thrive through challenges...
 this is powerful learning.
 https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3856/14760038836_c95794eff0_o_d.png

Great ideas are a dime a dozen but what makes a great idea different is action,
particularly taking action through challenges.
How do you avoid being derailed between your idea and the follow through to completion.
When dealing with self doubt and fear, remember that sometimes when you're in a situation you can't truly see the situation or solutions.When you come upon naysayers, remember- it's not their dream, it's your dream
 https://pixabay.com/static/uploads/photo/2016/04/22/03/43/hands-1345058_960_720.jpg

"Visible Learning, Visible Leading"

Patrick Miller @millerpEDU

How do the people you work with/for know you've learning?  

Build a diverse professional learning network (PLN)...diverse being key.
We gravitate to people who are similar to ourselves.
We learn more from people who have different experiences and challenge our ideas.
https://c2.staticflickr.com/4/3143/2675052219_97d082f7cf_z.jpg?zz=1

When considering any change, use the framework of these system drivers.
 Also consider, what are your personal drivers? 
@millerpEDU

We spend too much time and effort building rigid systems in the name of sustainability.
We need to be agile and flexible enough to respond to a changing world.
 "Sustainagility" (Pat Miller)