Listening Well Takes Skill & Practice

"To raise new questions, new possibilities, to regard old problems from a new angle, requires creative imagination and marks rel advance in science."

Albert Einstein

In the blog post, Why? Why not? What if? Questioning Our Way to a Better Tomorrow by Dave Dimmett found on blogs.edweek.org/edweek/LeaderTalk/?intc=intst it discussed the importance of not underestimating the power of listening to one another and asking questions that help us better understand our peers, the world around us, and ourselves.

As an instructional leader we can't take for granted the power of listening and what it can do to improve the quality of dialogue between teachers, parents, and students.  Shifting from Question and Answer to Question and Consider or Frequently Ask Questions to Infrequently Asked Questions?

Instructional leaders need to be the ones to push the envelope and ask the hard questions.  By doing this we can create the opportunity for innovation and creativity.  Instructional leaders can't be the ones doing all of the talking instead we need to be the listeners and ask questions which will invite dialogue and thought.