Pre-Yes

Saying yes opens us up to things that one would never encounter by not jumping forward. Sitting and waiting to be chosen with a hopeful look on one's face is not enough. In fact, doing something before anyone asks for it is an even bigger advantage. Then the idea maker gets to make the rules and set the course. In the course of the 2019 winter in Wisconsin, we had four snow/cold days in the course of two weeks. Our school district went to the Wisconsin Department of Instruction and told them we were going to count the days we didn't meet at school because we can do school remotely with the technology every student has. We implemented the idea almost without permission as an experiment and now all other school districts seem to be saying, "Wow, how did you guys get to do that?" Well, we weren't chosen, we chose ourselves.

To take it to a student level, we were wondering how successful the Digital Learning Days were and we took it upon ourselves to ask our district office if we could do some surveys to see what others think about those days. We have had over 1000 responses from parents, teachers and students regarding the days and which we will use as a problem analysis test. They were thinking about doing it, but we just did it.

Being the person to say "no" also has its advantages, although it takes a special person to seek out that type of interaction. Saying "no" is to be critical. To examine ideas from all angles and poke holes in them. In saying "no," the person shows "the strength to disappoint you now in order to delight you later" (Godin 2010, 75). Most people want to be told how great their ideas are, but without someone who will ask vital questions, things can be too vague when put into practice and may not end up as well as one would have liked.

In 2020, everyone had to go to that model when the coronavirus and “Safer at Home” orders went out. No one planned for Covid to take us out of school, but because the elements had been put in place early, “our students were less affected with learning loss then elsewhere” according to Chad Buboltz, assistant Superintendent of the Neenah Joint School District in Neenah, Wisconsin. How can students, or the general person,  create that same sort of preparedness for a situation they cannot currently imagine happening?

Godin, Seth. Linchpin: Are You Indispensable? Portfolio, 2010.