Iterate: Erik Burmeister

Erik is a long time award winning and innovative educator who I happen to know from long past when living in the Bay Area when we were all young adults.  Erik was as passionate and creative thinking then, so it comes as no surprise all that he has pursued, given to, and shaped over his career. 

There are three massive stand out thoughts for me in this podcast. 

1. Great leaders create conditions for those that are willing to risk to be able to do so.  Even to offer Incentives (mostly in the form of public acknowledgement of the work tried) and expectations for this kind of thinking and posture to be the norm

2. Induction programs are our greatest influence!!

3. Starting an Innovation Zone or Lab School space where those that want to risk and try new practices most will be supported, resourced and championed.  

GREAT LEADERS CREATE CONDITIONS FOR THOSE THAT ARE WILLING TO RISK TO BE ABLE TO DO SO

Erik passionately asserts that great leaders should strive to create conditions that encourage those willing to take risks. He emphasizes the importance of offering incentives, primarily in the form of public recognition for audacious ideas and the expectation that innovative thinking becomes the norm. This notion aligns perfectly with design thinking principles, which encourage educators to identify challenges, take measured risks, and champion new possibilities. He states that we need to "Create conditions and to some degree incentives to those who are willing to be on the bleeding edge." If you know me at all you now that I am an out on the edge, constantly trying new things, and visionary of alternative ways to connect kids to larger purpose and opportunities.  Many of us are.  Others of us long to be and need inspiring co-creators to invite us into designing. How can leaders invite more of us to safely be bold?

When Erik speaks about characteristics of experiments that lead to continuous improvements, he's championing that we want design thinking to win the day for early adopters in a way that is safe, secure and what we can all be excited about. Specifically, he addresses that in many districts it isn't safe for those of us that want to try new things.  He states, 

"I think our job as leaders is...to really make sure that those people who are willing to take some risks are given a safe, comforting, and encouraging space to do that and that they can be empowered that there aren't going to be negative consequences."

Indeed, for those that want to risk, voice, and try new practices It can and has been very difficult to do so, to the point of being asked not to.  Erik's call for fostering a safe, secure, and encouraging space for experimentation and innovation is paramount. Too often, the word "no" resonates in educational leadership. It's common to hear, "That's not possible," instead of an encouraging, "Let's explore what is possible." For the true agents of innovation often lie within our teaching teams, and our role as leaders is to pave the way for their groundbreaking work to flourish.

INDUCTION PROGRAMS ARE OUR GREATEST INFLUENCE!!

Erik states, "But when I became superintendent, I said I want to stay very involved in new teacher orientation because this was my one shot to really set the stage for how we wanted people to think. And we didn't necessarily start with Design Thinking. Anybody who applied to Menlo Park City School District, they knew that's what they were getting into." He gave out Liz Wiseman's book, Rookie Smarts, to all new teachers explaining that they wanted teachers to know that no matter how many years of experience they had their perspective mattered. This connects directly to his next idea.

STARTING AN INNOVATION LAB OR LAB SCHOOL SPACE

A dream of mine is to start a Lab School.  I'm working on connections and spaces for where this can best happen.  This innovative space would serve as a hub for the risk-takers, the entrepreneurial thinkers, and those seeking to push the boundaries of traditional education. In collaboration with like-minded institutions and student teachers, these spaces would create a nurturing environment where every educator is fully supported and included in pioneering work that makes a real difference.

Erik's experience with this concept in his school district further validates this vision. It is indeed a path worth exploring, one that has the potential to transform education and produce solutions to our most pressing challenges.

Finally, where this podcast really set me free at the end was when Erik spoke of his first experience at the d.school.  If you aren't familiar, The Stanford d.school has been doing some of the most forward thinking design work out there in education for a very long time.  "Our goal is to help you use design to make change where you are."  When Erik visited he recalled,  "I remember going to my first event there at the d.school, and I likened it to, we went through the whole day and I sort of had this moment where I wasn't ready to leave and people were sort of milling about. And I called some of the facilitators over and I said, "This has kind of been a transformational experience for me because this is how I thought about the world in education. But I feel like I've been a fish walking on land for 15 years of my career in education, and all of a sudden somebody just introduced me to water, and I dive in and I feel like, holy cow, this is what I've needed to the language and the mindsets that I've needed to explain how I want to go about the work of innovation in schools and why it's been so difficult."

He goes on to say,  "And design thinking, the processes and the mindsets gave me a language, gave me an understanding, gave me a community around which I could think about bringing in stakeholders and having a totally different orientation to problems."  Exactly.  Erik's experience at the d.school was very similar to one I had at High Tech High schools here in San Diego 10 years ago.  I resonated deeply with his reflection that he'd always felt like a fish on land, and now someone Introduced him to water, to the source.  YES!! High Tech High schools are similar in their approach to education and it is another model for us to follow that are seeking to redesign education so that it is accessible to all.  

Erik's journey and the work being done at TeachLab serve as beacons of hope, showing that innovative, accessible education is within our reach. As a parent, behavior interventionist, early childhood director, and former family pastor, my commitment remains unwavering: to advocate for innovative practices that meet the unique needs of all children, irrespective of their equity stories. Let us continue to work tirelessly to make learning as refreshing as water. Let it be so, and let us collectively make it so.

My deepest gratitude to Erik and TeachLab for their dedication to this transformative work and for amplifying the voices of educators.