What if we stopped talking about change and embraced it?

So much of what happens in school and in classrooms revolves around the concept of change. There are those who are frustrated that change isn't happening fast enough. There are those who are upset that it seems to be happening too fast. But these conversations are often just that... conversations. They miss the point. 

I love to be in the ocean. There is a place, just off the shore, where the crashing waves are just loud enough to drown out most of the screams of excitement on the beach. It is the place where the undercurrent pulls us out a little further from the shore than we might be comfortable with. Sometimes it is at this point where the water is just deep enough for us be able to touch our toes, but we are most likely treading water. It is also at this point where we realize that the waves forming beyond us will force us to make a choice. That choice is to either ride that wave in towards the beach  or be completely enveloped by the impending wave. We can try and hold out, avoiding them, but they will continue to grow and they will continue to come. Change, like the wave, can't be controlled, but it can be navigated. It can also completely swallow us up. 

Change is  never easy. It is by its nature, a process of growth and evolution. It is inevitable and unavoidable. Frequently, we pretend that if we ignore change long enough, we can stop it.  But in doing so, we often miss how drastically different the landscape has shifted around us.   Many of our schools and classrooms are dangerously in peril of becoming not just ineffective at preparing the next generation for the world around them, but also becoming completely obsolete. We must decide whether we want to spend our time talking about how much pain change will cause us or whether we want to focus on how beautiful we can make our classrooms and schools for our students. 

What if we stopped talking about change and embraced it?