Is it SAFE? IS it safe?

Remember the famous Marathon Man movie sequence where Olivier interrogates Hoffman?

Seth Godin (Seth's Blog) speaks today about "thrill seekers" versus "fear avoiders" in business. He summarizes by stating that "thrill seekers" love growth and change,

They most enjoy a day where they try something that was difficult, or--even better--said to be impossible, and then pull it off

and "fear avoiders" loathe change,

They want the world to stay just the way it is. They're happy being mediocre, because being mediocre means less threat/fear/change. They resent being pushed into the unknown, because the unknown is a scary place.

It hit us like a stone between the eyes that this seems to apply to public education in a big way too. Seth explains that in business:

. . . why not call them risk seekers and risk avoiders? Well, it used to be true. Seeking thrills was risky. But no longer. Now, of course, safe is risky. The horrible irony is that the fear avoiders are setting themselves up for big changes because they're confused. The safest thing they can do now, it turns out, is become a thrill seeker.

The "Big Education" folks are longer taking care of their own by eschewing creative educational solutions. The safest thing they can possibly do is, it now turns out, become thrill seekers.

It's time to step outside tenure schemes, accountability avoidance, non-performance based reviews, and unsustainable pensions. It's time to take some "risks".