Gaining Control

When I started thinking about why I want to create my own program in Educational Leadership, my first thoughts centered on why I didn’t want to follow a traditional program.  What that boiled down to was an issue of control. Gaining control makes this method genuine for me.  I will be intimately connected to everything that I study and learn.

I want control over what I learn.  I want to follow the pathways that interest me.  Along the way, I know those pathways will split, converge, and disappear, but for me to be fully engaged, I must have a large degree of control over my direction.  I am not planning on a lonely journey.  My desire is to have others who share the same interest in the same topics guide me, raise my level of awareness, challenge me, and push me.

I want control over how I learn.  I approach learning in many different ways.  I read books and articles, I watch PBS and TedTalks, I listen to podcasts and NPR, I read blogs and tweets, I talk to experts and practitioners,  I discuss with colleagues and students, I travel, I seek, I question.  For this experience to be genuine, I have to access every opportunity and resource.

I want control over my time.  At this stage in my life, I just can’t add another institution or person to the list of folks and obligations that tell me when to jump. I need to choose the time when I can work and not have deadlines imposed by others.

I believe that others feel this way and would like to find a new path to learning and credentialing.  I hope that I can serve as an inspiration and model for those looking for a different way.