August 2017 – Emily Maxwell McLemore

I’m going to tell you something about myself. I’m average.

There.

I said it.

It’s a relief.

There is something to be said for understanding who you are. This understanding has been earned the hard way.. through blood, sweat and tears.. but I truly appreciate the process and what I have learned about myself.

So here is what I know.

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I’m an average artist.

I’m an average runner.

I’m an average musician.

I’m an average teacher.

I’m an average friend.

I’m an average parent.

I’m average.

And I’m okay with that!

Why? Because being average doesn’t mean I am mediocre. Being average doesn’t mean that I don’t strive on a daily basis to be better or do more. But being average does mean that I have had the opportunity to recognize my strengths and weaknesses and that I am possibly more of a realist than someone who lives life from the front.

I want to share with you some of what I have learned from being thoroughly, completely, fully and even exceptionally average…

It will not be easy.

Learning to read was hard for me. I continued to work at this long after my peers had mastered reading fluently. I didn’t read well until 4th grade and this ability didn’t come easily. It took lots of repetition and reading aloud, but finally, the light switch was flipped in my brain.
It will not be quick.

One of the life lessons from the ranks of the average is that you learn perseverance. Be it homework, test preparations, learning a new role/job, or running distance miles, these tasks will take time and repetition. Today as I plodded down the road contemplating life, I embraced the 11:30 pace that I was “running.” For whatever reason, in this season my running pace is a good two minutes plus slower than my old pace.. and that old pace wasn’t fast! But the grace in being average is that I didn’t give up. If I had once been fast, I would have quit at this pace. But living life in the average lane means that I understand that most things are going to take time!
It will not be seen.

Unless you are the valedictorian or salutatorian of your graduating class, no one else is going to remember where you sat at graduation! I graduated number 21 in my class… since I don’t even remember if it was the second or third row… how can I expect anyone else too!
It will not be flashy.

Life is not made up of paparazzi moments. Life is made up of work and sweat and grit and occasionally, you get to be a photobomber.

But life as an exceptionally average person is not drudgery. We, the average in all things, are incredibly employable!

Why? Because of our experiences in life! When you learn through life experiences that life isn’t easy, quick, seen or flashy.. you learn to find meaning in the process and enjoy the journey!

So here is my advice to all the “exceptionally average”… embrace it, acknowledge it, and then be empowered to do more.

I’m reading George Couros’ book, The Innovator’s Mindset.

I love everything about this book! What I am finding interesting is that even though I have always had an innovator’s mindset and have embraced all that being an innovator entails in both my personal life and as a teacher; I have not always empowered my student’s to embrace the innovator’s mindset.

As I am reading this book, I am pondering many of the norms in my classroom and in my school and asking myself lots of questions. For example:

Why do we have to do ______ a certain way?
Why do we come from a place of negativity when it comes to rules and expectations?
Why do we expect kids to fail/get in trouble/do things wrong?
When are we giving students choices?
When are students leading learning?
When are we modeling the innovator’s mindset?

All of my questions come back to Couros’ examination of student compliance vs student empowerment. It shames me to think about the fact that even in an artistic environment where students are asked to innovate and create everyday, I have always required compliance! OUCH.

But guess what? I am required to comply everyday as well. I have always hated the posted rules, class room procedures and expectations requirement for “good” classroom management. For years I bucked the system and didn’t post things.. but in order to be an “effective” teacher it was necessary to post these guidelines.

So I did.

And guess what, students that didn’t comply didn’t care which rule they broke. Students that didn’t behave responsibly didn’t check my posted expectations and procedures to see how they deviated from the posted signs. The only thing that my signage did was to show adults that walked through my class that I had “good classroom management.”

So today I yanked my signs off the wall! These signs take up valuable wall space and I’d rather post positive messages and show off student work! What gave me the courage to take down the warning signs? Well, Couros made me do it!

I want my classroom to be a place of empowerment. I want students to be willing to risk it all and try new things in my space. I want to push students to expand their mindset and become an innovator. And I can’t do that from a place of compliance.

No, I’m not going to have a free for all in my classroom! I am way to organized and driven for that nonsense! But I need to move past the statements that demand compliance.

Instead, here is one of my new posters…

So yes, in a way I am still demanding compliance.. but the mindset is different. Instead of requiring that students all put the pencils away the same way or put their name on their papers in the same two inch space on their papers, I am demanding that students imagine. I am demanding that students dream, collaborate and inspire others with their work and their choices.

I can’t wait to see how the shift in mindset frees my students and my own personal creativity. I’m sure it will be wild ride, but I know that it will be worth it.

Month: August 2017

Experiences of the Exceptionally Average

It will not be easy.

It will not be quick.

It will not be seen.

It will not be flashy.

It’s not just about HAVING an innovator’s mindset, you have to USE it!