A Reflective Learning Journal

The Scorpions released the song “Winds of Change” in 1990, the year I was transitioning from high school to university, Nelson Mandela was released from prison, the Meech Lake Accord collapsed, and Hip-Hop was on the rise.  I vividly recall loving this song and thinking that I was so politically astute at the age of 19 (this makes me smile today). Listening to this song can take me instantly back in time to when the tension of certainty and uncertainty reigned supreme in my life.

As I reflect on this it seems as though not too much as changed.  Today, as I pursue my Doctor of Education, I find myself a student of change management and all over again Scorpions’ lyrics become relevant.

“The future’s in the air. I can feel it everywhere.”

I believe that change often has a bad-rap.  Not everyone perceives change to be negative. The Scorpions didn’t – right?! Resistance to change is not a universal truth. Many will question change, but this does not equate with resistance. Questioning helps us position our feelings around the benefits and costs of change. As I age, my ability to change grows more flexible.  I have experienced some truly GOOD change in my life and I am looking forward to more!

As a change leader I am reminded that I need to seek to understand rather than to be understood (thank you, Stephen Covey, Habit #5 of 7 Habits of Highly Effective People).

At my place of work, we are all engaged in cycles of inquiry for continual improvement. This is our second year of inquiry and coaching one another using a Liberating Structure called Troika. Through this process we have improved our personal practice, drawn together as a community of learners, met our SMART goals and served our “clients” (our students) better. Every time we meet (bi-weekly) the “future is in the air” as we map out a theory of action to enact meaningful, incremental, reflective and sustained change for our work.

“Take me to the magic of the moment…where we dream away in the wind of change.”

Thank you Scorpions for reminding me in 2019 that change is powerful and inspiring. It is my hope that we continue to dream a way to better support students in their time of transition from secondary school to university.