As a school leader, I think that every good idea that has become a great practice or a true innovation has started with curiosity. Inspiration is a mix of a desire to question, learn, and investigate, accompanied by the excitement of what is possible.
Curiouser and curiouser!” Cried Alice
(she was so much surprised, that for the moment
she quite forgot how to speak good English).
Lewis Carroll
I would correctly be described as a terrible listener, not intentional of course, but as an outcome of my restless mind. The darn thing is always turning over ideas, problems and solutions and is easily stuck in the last thing that captured its attention. The upside of this mental challenge is it’s accompanying ability to make connections, be intrigued, and proclivity for curiosity.
The spark needed for creativity and innovation can be born out of open ended questions that in turn are driven by our natural curiosity. Asking questions of parents, students, community members, family, friends, consultants, superintendents, bartenders (seeing if you were still reading!), and pretty much anyone you meet can make the world a wonderful and inspiring place. The answers to our questions, and the reflection time you allow yourself to mull these answers over in order to make connections to your core work, is the birthplace of ideas. Unconferencing or open space professional learning is a prime example of the power of self-driven curiosity and questioning.
Let me give you a few ideas of the random open ended questions I sometimes ask people I’ve just met: What do you like best about your work? What is the greatest challenge to you or in your work? How could education help with that? What would you want in an employee? How does that work? What was a fail for you? What is missing? If none of the rules applied what would you do or fix first? What do you want to know more about? What did you like about high school? Of course the list is endless!
Wanting to know stuff, and really allowing your inner curiosity to take the reins will allow for new seeds of inspiration to take root. I guarantee it – no refunds, no exchanges.
The Pensive Principal 