Becoming Agents of Change

Educators are charged with the task of encouraging and supporting new thinking and new behaviors every day; they are agents of change. CTL’s challenge is to encourage and support new thinking and new behaviors in the agents of change themselves. Right now, I am working with colleagues at CTL and GEAR UP Kentucky, the state […]

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On January 25, 2010
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Educators are charged with the task of encouraging and supporting new thinking and new behaviors every day; they are agents of change. CTL’s challenge is to encourage and support new thinking and new behaviors in the agents of change themselves.

Right now, I am working with colleagues at CTL and GEAR UP Kentucky, the state project of the national initiative to develop and support college readiness among underserved students, to design the third annual GEAR UP Alliance Institute for a College-Going Culture, “Driving the Dream.” In early March, some 800 Kentucky middle and high school administrators, counselors, teachers, parents, and students will converge in Louisville for day-long sessions designed to engage, inform, and motivate them to be agents of change for themselves, and within their families, schools, communities and beyond.

It is our goal for the activities of the Institute to be interactive for everyone involved. Administrators, educators, parents and students will participate directly in both gathering and sharing information, and will, we hope, end the day not only motivated but prepared to implement tangible steps to increase college readiness for all students.

With that in mind, consider these questions: When you seek information, what kinds of activities do you find most engaging and useful? Do you prefer to sit back and listen, participate in a discussion, take part in a demonstration, or actively pursue the knowledge of experts in person or online? How do you like to share information with others—through speaking, writing or actively demonstrating “how to”? Have you experienced anything recently that spurred you to take further action on your own? If so, what was the experience, and what was it about the experience that you found particularly motivating? How did you know what to do next, and how did it work out?

As collaborators with educators, we at CTL are always looking for new ways to inform and motivate, and ultimately, to help expand and sustain the capacity of agents of change to inform and motivate others. Let’s get the discussion going.