I was reading Will Richardson’s post on School 2.0. It refers to the future opening of two new schools. I am envious of these schools. They have a new vision, they are being created with the idea to be different, to try new things. They are starting from the ground up, hiring staff who share the vision and have the skills necessary to carry out the goals. I wish them well, I hope they are successful and that they pass on what they learn to the rest of us.

But what about the rest of us, the majority of us? How do you transform the older institutions? I can list all the road blocks: poor infrastructure, not enough computers, not enough bandwidth, teachers not trained (nor time, money or staff interest for training), to much testing pressure to experiment, fear of the unknown, stuck in a rut….. Sometimes I feel that when we finally get these schools to incorporate some Web 2.0 the world will be on Web 3.0. How do you get people past these road blocks to see the destination just beyond, how do you inspire them to push the road blocks out of the way or build a bridge?

I get on the web and I am lost. I start reading the blogs, which lead to new sites, new thoughts. I add clippings to my notebook, links to furl it, email my friends (who probably wish I wouldn’t), talk my husband’s ear off, and become eager to do it all again tomorrow. I see our students falling into this same routine. Learning has become fun for me again, inspiring, powerful and real. I just wish I could get others be equally inspired.

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