Team Launch

Team Launch

by Laura Willis

Getting a human on the moon took over 17,000 Kennedy space center employees, 500 space suit designers and countless others as described in Catherine Thimmesh's book, Team Moon: How 400,000 People Landed Apollo 11 on the Moon.

Getting a child to launch takes the same amount of preparation with a skilled team of collaborators purposefully designing and modifying the steps toward a successful lift-off. 

From the moment that child walks through the doors of the school, the team must go into full operational mode. Everyone has their job, their mission in a school. From the staff who hands a child a fruit snack to help them concentrate to the staff who works with a student on a math assignment. 

Improved learning does not happen by chance. Collaboration is crucial. We need to foster Friedell's community of learners by sharing best practices, using data to inform instruction, and reflecting on our practices. Impacting the trajectory of our students requires the adults to understand the strengths and weaknesses of our students and use different techniques to make lift-off a reality for all. 

In a healthy culture, failures are seen as the next opportunity for creativity and design to improve learning. By being innovative, productive, communicative, and reflective, we can change the course for our students' lives.

It is with this collaboration in mind that we start Friedell's school blog. "Alone we are smart, but together we are brilliant. We can use the collective wisdom to do great things when we are connected." - S. Anderson.

We need to tap into one another's strengths and knowledge to launch all students. Our ability to reach all students is limited only by ourselves. Are we challenging ourselves to learn and grow? What have you learned lately that might help a child reach his or her full potential? 

Let's hear about it, and then, let's put it into practice!