ISTE 2011 and the Power of Philosophy, Not Just Techology
The International Society of Technology in Education (ISTE) just wrapped up a remarkable conference of over 20,000 educators from around the world. Held in the historic city of Philadelphia, the theme this year was “Unlocking Potential,” and it certainly highlighted countless ways to do that were inspiring and sometimes surprising.
Workshops and presentations on the latest and greatest in tech integration lived up to expectations, but I was pleasantly surprised by how much of the conference was devoted to unlocking student potential in a deeper, low-tech way that Socrates taught nearly 2,500 years ago: through the power of philosophy.
Dr. Stephen R. Covey
One of the most powerful demonstrations of the power of philosophy was shared in the keynote session by Dr. Stephen Covey, renowned author of the “7 Habits of Highly Effective People,” and Muriel Summers, award-winning principal of A.B. Combs Elementary in North Carolina. Combs faced a variety of issues, including low student achievement and low teacher and student morale, when Ms. Summers approached Dr. Covey with the idea that people shouldn’t have to be adults to learn the seven habits; they should be taught to kids in school starting in kindergarten.
Principal Muriel Summers
Summers went on to help integrate the principals into her school, starting with teacher training and eventually helping to write the book “The Leader in Me” with Dr. Covey which explains how to integrate the principles into schools. Now both staff and students share the common values of the seven habits, which in short are:
- Be Proactive
- Begin with the End in Mind
- Put First Things First
- Think Win-Win
- Seek First to Understand, Then to be Understood
- Synergize
- Sharpen the Saw (self-renewal)
The result is that relationships between teachers, students, and other members of the community improved dramatically, as did academic achievement and student self-confidence, not to mention staff and community morale. The most inspiring part of the keynote was hearing from two boys from the school who explained what it was like to attend it and about their goals for future. Wisdom beyond their years shown through everything they said…and how they said it, with warmth and humility. It was a powerful display of what Dr. Covey explained when he said that we can achieve incremental improvements if we focus only on teaching Skillsets and Toolsets to our children, but that it is changes in Mindsets that can lead to quantum leaps in our development as individuals and achievement.
Check back to Engaging Every Student’s blog soon for more details about ISTE 2011 and how the power of philosophy radiated out through so many of the speakers, poster sessions, and student presentations. Future blog posts will focus on the amazing stories of others in attendance, including Chris Leman and his students at the Science Leadership Academy in Philly, as well as the contributions of Alan November and many others who are leading the push for global education.
