When I worked at schools, we often tried to encourage innovation and creativity. The school's motto was "have the courage to be imperfect." I encouraged my team of teachers to try to improve their lessons and said this implies that, often, they will do worse. Trying to change the way something is done is uncertain and carries risks. It means that sometimes you find a much better way to do something, and that this new approach can be further improved through iteration. The problem is that trying to improve implies taking risks, and that means sometimes some changes will be spectacularly bad.
Parents loved this approach, or so they said. In reality, they were keen for teachers to experiment and take risks with their lessons, just not when their kids were in the classroom. Experiment with others and then use the best for my kid-- they seemed to think. The thing is that this process of iterating, reflecting on why changes failed miserably, and why others worked well --- is something of much greater value. Yet this remained unseen.
Your personal school case is very interesting. Yes, human is a routine being that creates attachment to the known, so trying new things is difficult. However, it is only through trying numerous different ideas that one can really find some with huge potential.
We find it hard to take the risk but we know it benefits us. There is a clash of forces there.
The process of iterating is fundamental, I agree with you and I try to apply it in my life.
When I worked at schools, we often tried to encourage innovation and creativity. The school's motto was "have the courage to be imperfect." I encouraged my team of teachers to try to improve their lessons and said this implies that, often, they will do worse. Trying to change the way something is done is uncertain and carries risks. It means that sometimes you find a much better way to do something, and that this new approach can be further improved through iteration. The problem is that trying to improve implies taking risks, and that means sometimes some changes will be spectacularly bad.
Parents loved this approach, or so they said. In reality, they were keen for teachers to experiment and take risks with their lessons, just not when their kids were in the classroom. Experiment with others and then use the best for my kid-- they seemed to think. The thing is that this process of iterating, reflecting on why changes failed miserably, and why others worked well --- is something of much greater value. Yet this remained unseen.
Hello Curing! :)
Your personal school case is very interesting. Yes, human is a routine being that creates attachment to the known, so trying new things is difficult. However, it is only through trying numerous different ideas that one can really find some with huge potential.
We find it hard to take the risk but we know it benefits us. There is a clash of forces there.
The process of iterating is fundamental, I agree with you and I try to apply it in my life.