I have been a big fan of George Couros for a long time.  I love his spirit and how he inspires people.  Now he has a book out – The Innovator’s Mindset (Dave Burgess Consulting, Inc 2015).  I think this is a very important read.  Even in the first chapter, we are encouraged to share our own stories, “because our students benefit when we learn from each other.”

I would like to use this blog to comment on what George is writing about.  When I can, I will add observations from my own innovators journey in the spirit of sharing that George is encouraging.

What I love about the first chapter is that George is clear on saying that innovation is not reserved for the few; it is something we will all need to embrace if we are to move forward.(pg 9)

How are we embracing innovation?  We all belong to large systems that thrive on stability.  How can innovation happen within these systems and how can it become part of what we do every day?

George makes a great point in this chapter that we can’t expect teachers to learn new technologies and train on ways to implement them on their own time.  At our school, the focus of our professional development is on digital transformation and we will do the learning during the school day as part of our professional development plan.

I am intrigued to see how we can develop a plan for constant innovation.  I think this idea is so important that I hope to write something about every chapter as I go through this book.

The bottom line is that we have to keep learning – George starts off the book with a great quote from Albert Einstein which we all need to consider, “Once you stop learning, you start dying.”