I heard this quote the other day and was struck about how many things that it applies to in schools:
“Freedom is actually a bigger game than power. Power is about what you can control. Freedom is about what you can unleash.” ― Harriet Rubin
When educators think about technology in schools, do they think of “power” and “control”, or do they think of “freedom”?
I have a good friend that has to copy and paste my blogs on her own, and post them on her school website, because my blog is blocked as it is labeled “social media”. That is not about freedom, but it is about power and control.
Technology should give the opportunity, as Stephen Covey would say, to unleash talent. It should not be about control, but about affording opportunities.
This also applies to leadership. Many often talk about “distributed decision making”, yet everything must be vetted through them. That is not about freedom, it is about power and control. That creates a lack of trust and an unhealthy environment. The administrators that I did the most for, showed they trusted me the most.
As soon as a person is hired, that should say, “I trust you”. We need to give them the freedom to unleash their talents. We need to say say “yes” often, and say “no” rarely.
