Bird Droppings March 2, 2012

A novel concept risk control

 

“To dare is to lose one’s footing momentarily.  To not dare is to lose oneself.” Soren Kierkegaard

 

So often I watch teachers satisfied with their thirty eight years of experience still doing everything the same way and unable to consider or even to think that there could be a better way. This is basically what I was told going ion to observe a fellow teacher yesterday. I was reminded of a collaborative meeting about four years ago as I watched and listened as teachers were to share ideas that were working. Within the group of forty or so at least fifteen shared but it was as each spoke something they had never used or did not think would work. I wondered what is working then, especially after hearing a comment about experience being so important. Teachers need to be learners first.

 

“I am always doing that which I cannot do, in order that I may learn how to do it.” Pablo Picasso

 

It has been a few years since I last read about Risk Control. I was working in a company that did consulting primarily with mining and industry. Perhaps the features on news broadcasts of the various industrial accidents in past years and much like the mining disaster in West Virginia several years back made me think of this combined with listening yesterday to a senior teacher say I am retiring I do not need to change. I always recall Henry David Thoreau and how he left teaching to be a learner and found he was a much better teacher.

 

“When in doubt, make a fool of yourself.  There is a microscopically thin line between being brilliantly creative and acting like the most gigantic idiot on earth.  So what the hell, leap?” Cynthia Heimel, Lower Manhattan Survival Tactics

 

In years gone by I recall stories my father would tell of doing inspections in mines in South Africa. One particular mine was fifteen thousand feet to the bottom and four to five miles out once you were down to getting to a job site. You were literally hours from the surface in an environment hot enough to cook an egg on the rock face. South African mines became the cooling experts of the world. There are shafts to air condition right next to lifts for people and equipment. Three miles down looking for gold is that an acceptable risk. In today’s rapidly rising gold market not even a question.

Back in the day in that mine over a thousand miners a year died. My father’s ideas and concepts of Loss Control and Risk management brought changes and today that same mine has a death rate lower than any other deep rock mine in the world. They have set safety records for tunneling. Back in the early 1980’s this mine at one point broke the world record for deep rock tunneling in a twenty four hour period without a loss and without an accident. The safety department was awarded the national production award which is unheard of anywhere in the world. There was risk but any possibilities were reviewed and contingencies put in place to avoid loss.

 

“I dip my pen in the blackest ink, because I’m not afraid of falling into my inkpot.” Ralph Waldo Emerson

 

In that collaborative meeting several years back as I listened to teachers who for whatever reason were cautious. These teachers would not venture out past the buoy. They wanted the contentment of a warm fire and fuzzy blanket as long as it met standards and was administration approved and sanctioned and they did not have to take a chance. In Risk Control there are several key elements. First when you are aware of a risk you can terminate it, you can treat it, you can tolerate it, or you can transfer that risk. Transferring of risk back in industry is called insurance.

 

“Progress always involves risks.  You can’t steal second base and keep your foot on first.” Frederick B. Wilcox

 

It is not just teachers I have watched students who take only easy courses so as to not mess up their GPA for scholarships and such. A few years back an intelligent student never took honors or AP courses so that student’s GPA was second highest in the school. This student excelled in college so no big deal but what if they had seriously applied in high school really tried rather than just get by with the minimal effort. We do this in life every day. What is the least we need to do without any risk taking?

 

“Why not go out on a limb?  Isn’t that where the fruit is?” Frank Scully

 

“Yes, risk taking is inherently failure-prone.  Otherwise, it would be called sure-thing-taking.” Tim McMahon

 

Myself I can create havoc far too many times not accepting what someone says till I am sure of what they are saying or proving it to myself. I do not like blanket statements especially in education. I recall a few years back when I was told a program was research based and data driven. But when I researched on my own I found in 1997 the research was done on a much younger four to six year olds and a more academically advanced group of kids. So in effect the group I was working with had no such research and or data that were applicable which negates statement of research driven and data driven.

Have you ever tried to catch a rat in a mouse trap? Ninety nine times out of hundred it won’t work that is what risk management is about. You have to get a bigger trap that works ninety nine percent of the time. Several years ago I used this quote for the first time. I am myself a hockey fan and I played ice hockey in college for a few years.  I have always been a Wayne Gretzky fan. A good friend borrowed my quote for the day and had it on his office during his tenure at our High School and now has the same quote hanging in his office at his new school. He borrowed this over eleven years ago.  

 

“You’ll always miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.” Wayne Gretzky

 

Far too many people and teachers would rather not take the shot and never score rather than miss when they shoot. I have watched school administrations around the country stifle teachers taking chances, stifle creativity and often stifle learning. A teacher can only be as creative as the person who supervises them.

 

“I believe in getting into hot water; it keeps you clean.” G.K. Chesterton

 

How many put downs does it take to stop trying to get up. A professor shared a story of monkeys in a lab experiment. A banana was placed at the top of a ladder and one monkey braved the ladder as he climbed the other four monkeys in the cage were sprayed with cold water. It did not take long for the four monkeys to stop the fifth every time he went for the ladder. The experimenters change monkeys around one by one after several weeks not one monkey was an original and no monkeys had been sprayed with water and yet as soon as a new monkey was placed in the cage and would try to get the bananas the others would stop it. So many jobs in teaching are like this. Ideas are stopped creativity stifled.

 

“What is more mortifying than to feel you’ve missed the Plum for want of courage to shake the Tree?” Logan Pearsall Smith

 

Thinking back to that collaborative meeting for the first time in many years I felt like the monkeys in the experiment. Unfortunately for experimenters I keep climbing up the ladder but that feeling of stifling can be over whelming too many. How do we encourage students to be creative then becomes the issue if teachers are stifled. InPa.the court over threw intelligent design as religious in Biology classes, many teachers were relieved because they did not want to teach something they themselves did not agree with. It was sort of teaching the world is flat back in the day when you have a globe under a cover in the back room.

 

“A ship in harbor is safe – but that is not what ships are for.” John A. Shedd, Salt from My Attic

 

Teachers should be able to teach not simply be tape recorders spitting out programmed information.

 

“The torment of precautions often exceeds the dangers to be avoided.  It is sometimes better to abandon one’s self to destiny.”  Napoleon Bonaparte

 

“This nation was built by men who took risks – pioneers who were not afraid of the wilderness, business men who were not afraid of failure, scientists who were not afraid of the truth, thinkers who were not afraid of progress and dreamers who were not afraid of action.” Brooks Atkinson

 

As I think thorough the events of my observation, that meeting a few years back and watching and listening I know now why some children fail. Teachers and parents are too concerned about failing themselves and they really never try and succeed with that child. It is far easier to pass the buck than to risk failure, use insurance. Johnny can’t read yet I will sneak him through another year I can’t take any chances.

 

“Only those who dare to fail greatly can ever achieve greatly.” Robert F. Kennedy

 

 Robert Kennedy whether you agree with his philosophies or not believed strongly enough in them that he died for those ideals.

 

“It is not because things are difficult that we do not dare, it is because we do not dare that they are difficult.” Seneca

 

Seneca provides us with such a simple truth, words from great orator and thinker so many years ago. Only a few years ago Dr. Schuler world famous and pastor of one of the largest churches in North America stepped down and had his son take over as senior pastor.

 

“What great thing would you attempt if you knew you could not fail?” Robert H. Schuler

 

 For most they still would not attempt and then again if there was no risk of failure how could it be great anyone could do it.

 

“Do not be too timid and squeamish about your actions.  All life is an experiment.  The more experiments you make the better.  What if they are a little course and you may get your coat soiled or torn?  What if you do fail, and get fairly rolled in the dirt once or twice.  Up again, you shall never be so afraid of a tumble.” Ralph Waldo Emerson

 

I was exhausted when I left that observation, and from that collaborative planning meeting, emotionally drained from comments from teachers and administrators. A day supposedly to inspire and was I was totally drained. There was a comment from an administrator to the effect that children who cannot read in high school are just biding time till they are sixteen and taking up space. That statement bothered me since those are the kids I worked with trying to keep them in school. Through various programs and testing we now eliminate and create failure for them.  I find it interesting what was called no child left behind could more effectively be renamed how many can we leave behind. Please keep all in harm’s way on your mind and in your hearts and to always give thanks.

namaste

bird