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The institution of education is a system - a well-oiled thoroughly crafted machine with lots of dynamic and, sometimes, interchangeable parts. Whenever someone or something tries to make a change to such a system, obstacles will arise. Even if the change guarantees improvement, such changes come with questions, doubt, and even conflict. There will always be a thousand reasons NOT to do something. The question is how strong is your belief in the changes you seek to make and are they worth the RISK?

In A New Culture of Learning, Thomas and Brown (2011) base the new culture of learning on passion, imagination, and constraint. These qualities are very difficult to monitor and assess, especially when juxtaposed to the current culture of teach, assess, reteach, retest. I appreciated how our authors described the current culture in education as one "not of knowledge, but of surveillance." They go on to state the true learning occurs when passion, imagination, and constraint are married in an environment where students can play active learners.

All I can think about when pondering how to actually implement these ideas and transform a learning environment is the amount of risk that is at stake. You may call it nerves, weakness, or even resistance, but there could be some serious consequences if such an adjustment is not implemented well and those expected outcomes are not met. While teachers are still held to the ultimate standard of test scores, and as long as the old culture of learning works to achieve those outcomes, only a special, rare breed of educator will dare take the risk of establishing a new culture of learning.

In all honesty, the more I immerse myself in the teachings and dreams of these idealistic proponents of educational reform, the stronger my faith grows in believing that such changes are necessary. I guess it is true that whatever you surround yourself with, that is what you will begin to believe. While I continue to have PLC after PLC reviewing test data, I will continue to dream with the likes of Douglas Thomas. Establishing a new culture of learning and an authentic learning environment doesn't seem as impossible as it once did and definitely seems like a RISK worth taking.