During a recent podcast, I explored the idea of a blank canvas in education. We looked at two distinct mental models for change. And I think we can have both at the same time....

The first is the skateboard. Skateboarders learn how to fall before they learn how to land. In certain areas of school life, we must give staff permission to fail safely so they can eventually master the craft. Skateboarders learn to fall in a way that allows them to try again. Do we afford teachers the same [necessary] luxury? 

The second is the El Capitan mountain in Yosemite National Park. Alex Honnold climbed this 900m vertical wall without a rope, but it was not a reckless gamble. It was the result of a decade of meticulous, clinical preparation that removed the risk of error. Something we also want for the education of our students. 

Can these two cultures coexist in one school building? Or does a tick-box compliance culture force us into a middle ground where we neither innovate safely nor execute with total precision?

I am interested in your view. Does your school culture allow for both, or does the pressure for results make the skateboard feel too risky?