Tuesday, April 3, 2012

Are you a victim of TTWWADI?

As educators we must change the way we deliver instruction to our students.  The school system most of  us currently work in is based upon decisions that were made for another time.  Most people in education have no idea why they do the things they do on a daily basis.  Little do they realize most of what they do was developed in the early 1900s - the prime of the industrial age.  We are now in the information age and the students who we see everyday have not only grown up in a digital world, but this world has affected their thinking patterns.

If the world around the education system has changed - especially in the last 15 yrs - then why has it been so difficult for the education system to meet the demands of the new world?  It think it is pretty simple.  Many people in education suffer from TTWWADI.  It is the mindset that develops as people form habits - That's The Way We've Always Done It.  TTWWADI becomes a powerful force that prohibits change as people embrace doing things the way they have always been done without ever examining the original decision to do something a particular way.  People just accept the preexisting mindset because it is the path of least resistance.

Ted McCain said "Conventional wisdom is that it takes great strength to hold on to something.  In my view, it takes the greatest strength to let go of something you have done the same way for a long time."  I would encourage all educators to look at how they instruct on a daily basis.  Is it the same as how you were instructed when you were a student?  If so, then you suffer from TTWWADI!!

If you are not engaging your students in asking and answering good questions then you are not preparing them for the world they will live in.  Schools can no longer focus on information.  Students have instant access to all kinds of information.  Memorization and low-level thinking problems are taking the enjoyment out of school for our students.  We must focus on higher-level thinking skills and instill a love of learning in every student that walks into our schools.  The only way to do that is to reflect on what you do in the classroom and question why you do it.  If you can't answer why you do something then you suffer from TTWWADI.

Be willing to let go of something you have done for a long time.  Especially if you just assumed that is the way it's supposed to be done.  Challenge yourself and your teammates to look at instruction differently.  Our students need all educators to show great strength in this regard.  The way things have always been done in education is no longer good enough for our students.  Don't allow TTWWADI get in the way of positive change.


  1. Thank you for this post, I just wrote a post about something similar just yesterday. I am an educator trying something very different with my class and sometimes experience negativity from educators suffering from "TTWWADI" (I love that by the way)! It is wonderful to hear other educators, teachers and principals alike who realize that the world is changing, we are preparing our students for jobs and technologies that don't yet exist (at least we should be) and wrote memorization is simply not going to work for them. Bravo for your forward thinking attitude, keep up the great work!

    1. Elizabeth thanks for the comment!! I appreciate the read. Keep looking at things differently and questioning why you are doing what you do. It is good for your kiddos and it is good for you professionally. Don't let the negativity bring you down.