Making the Most of Uncertainty
BIG Questions Institute Bi-Weekly Update
November 8, 02023, No. 159 (Read online)
Making the Most of Uncertainty
Hey,
One of the resources we often cite in our work in schools is a piece titled "Our Brains Were Not Built for this Much Uncertainty" from the Harvard Business Review. The tl;dr version is that when familiar patterns in life begin to fall apart or appear less controllable, our brains react with a threat response, and the negative impacts on our mood and our productivity can be profound.
In liminal, in-between times such as these when so many narratives of how we live on the planet are breaking, uncertainty can become paralyzing. And as we're seeing on almost a daily basis, a common response is to narrow our gaze, to try to stop the bleeding of change, and to hold on more tightly to the remnants of what used to "work."
Even when it's obvious that much of what we're holding on to won't "work" any longer.
But might we learn to see uncertainty as an opportunity, not a threat? To use it as a spark to create new narratives that are more just and relevant and healthy for all living things?
What if, as mythologist Martin Shaw asks, we "reframed 'living with uncertainty' to 'navigating mystery'?"
As he says:
Arguably, nowhere do we need more of "the hum of imaginative voltage" than in schools. Nowhere is the narrative more uncertain and tenuous than the one that suggests that an "education" in a time of intense change and complexity is something that is delivered to students based on the past and not experienced by students in real life with a focus on the future.
And honestly, to suffer (as we must) through the liminal and not contribute to the creation of what comes next is indefensible, especially in education.
This is our moment to collectively write the next story of education, not out of a sense of fear, but with wonder, awe, and curiosity.
What will we imagine and create together?
Onward!
Homa and Will
What We're Reading
A few links to fuel your inquiry:
Prompting Isn't the Most Important Skill by Mike Loukides
Building an Equitable Future by Centering Young Voices by Mar Márquez
Content creators surge past legacy media as news hits a tipping point by Taylor Lorenz
Learn With BQI
Free Events in our BQI Community!
Join fellow educator-leaders from around the world as we tackle a wide variety of topics in our free webinar series. Here's what's upcoming.
LATER TODAY! FREE Webinar: “'We’re Doing This to Them': How to Reverse the Mental Health Crisis in YOUR School" with Steve Shapiro. RSVP HERE!
November 20 - FREE WEBINAR! "Perspective-Taking Strategies for Deepening Understanding and Critical Thinking" with author Tricia Ebarvia. RSVP HERE!
Will We Be in Your Neighborhood?
Homa and Will would love to connect at any of the upcoming events they're speaking at:
November 11 - Korea Council of Overseas Schools Conference, Seoul, Korea (Homa - Keynote)
November 29 - NAIS POCC Conference, St, Louis, MO (Homa - Half-day Equity Seminar)
November 30 - Indiana State Superintendents Association, Indianapolis, IN (Will - Keynote)
January 5 - CNM Conference on Teaching and Learning in Albuquerque, New Mexico. (Will - Keynote)
February 17 - American International School on Johannesburg. (Homa - Symposium)
WORK WITH US!
Let BQI help you unlock the opportunities that are rapidly unfolding in education and the wider contexts. Everyone is talking about the challenges and the difficulties that are breaking systems and people. Leadership navigates change with fearless inquiry, futures thinking, imagination, and diverse relationships. That takes new skills, lenses, and dispositions and we are here for it.
We help school communities:
- create new strategic plans
- articulate or update their school community's definition of learning
- revisit their mission, vision, and values
- prepare for accreditation
- build the capacity of their boards and communities to navigate more effective and inclusive pathways into the future
- plan engaging professional development for their staff
Why not think about having us work with your staff, leadership team, or board on some BIG Questions worth pursuing?
We're working to design healthier, more just, more relevant, and more sustainable futures for school communities. Get all the details at bigquestions.institute
Onward with hope,
Homa and Will
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