Sharpen the Saw

     There is no such thing as perfection, yet we should strive to achieve perfection regardless. Given this dynamic, it  would seem a futile exercise to try to achieve perfection.   Yet, the ever-moving target of perfection is what keeps us striving to constantly improving ourselves and the way we impact our world.   
      Today's world is changing so rapidly and is being flooded daily with new information, ways of doing things, and perspectives, that it is impossible to stay relevant without constantly learning more. Not being relevant directly impacts one's ability to be a good leader, especially in relation to learning communities.  Thanks to the internet, parents are more aware than ever of the new trends in education and are becoming more choosy about what kind of school they want their child to attend. Parents now ask questions such as "does the school have a no-homework policy?" or "do you employ restorative justice practices?" Good leaders need to not only stay abreast of new educational trends, but engage their community with regards to first order changes that could enhance learning for the students. Good leaders don't just learn about new best practices, they have the courage to propose trying them out.
     It is exactly the need to sharpen my saw that led me to search for and ultimately enroll in a master's program in educational leadership through San Diego State University.  I particularly liked their technology focus track because I have seen the great impact that technology has had on learning and this is certainly one of the greatest areas of change that education has seen in recent years. I want to be on the cutting edge of education before going out and training others on how to educate, which is my focus right now.  After years of educating children, I want to now educate educators and this means sharpening my saw quite a bit.
     I will continue to sharpen my saw by staying committed to my masters program and engaging with and internalizing all that is being taught to me.  What use is a new title without the knowledge that goes behind it? I know many students who just do enough to get by and get a decent grade. This is a huge waste of an opportunity to really sharpen their saw.  I commit to being a fully engaged student with all the materials being shared with me by my instructors.
     I spoke to my children and husband about this final habit. They agreed that it is the culmination of the other habits and without it, not much growth can occur.  The younger children did not quite understand the concept of professional development but when re-worded to mean "take classes and learn new things," they quickly agreed that they have benefited a lot from learning new things and that they would not want to stop learning after graduating from high school.  They do wish they could learn more about what they are interested in so one of them said they did not want to go to college to learn more academics, but rather, would like to learn to be a carpenter by working for a carpenter. I am glad that I am instilling these habits intentionally in my children from a young age.  I believe, after this exercise of teaching my children Covey's habits, that all children should be taught these types of lessons in school, starting in elementary school.  My adult son agreed with this and asked why life skills like this are not considered important enough to put in the state's standards.  If children learned Covey's habits from a young age and had them reinforced throughout their school experience, many of them would possibly go on to do bigger and better things and feel more in control of their lives.