The end of the beginning

You hear the phrase "beginning of the end" quite commonly. It could be that point in a movie when we realize that a plan is going to fall apart. It might mean the turning point in a war that is finally approaching an end. It could represent the start of senior year of high school, the last leg of primary education. Regardless of its use, the phrase always tends to be paired with a negative tone.

"The end of the beginning" invokes opposite feelings. Beginnings are weird and typically consist of chaos. If fact, were reminded today that if there was not chaos when our cohort began our project that our project must not be going well. This is because beginnings introduce new ideas, different ways of doing things, unknown expectations, and unfamiliar territory. Beginnings represent the period of time that you feel out of your comfort zone. Although beginnings are uncomfortable, they are the first step towards anything that is worth doing.

We are at the end of the beginning, the intersection of chaos and order. This is the point in time where our comfort zone has gown to include ideas and approaches that we would not have previously considered internal. We are physically different after beginnings. Literally, we are physically different. New neural connections have been made to turn our brains into something they had not been before. The end of the beginning is a time to emerge from chaos looking forward to what is ahead.


My cohort is at the end of the beginning of our project. We are presenting the essential questions that we have been chaotically circling around for almost two weeks:

What does a schedule conducive to 21st Century Education at Malvern Preparatory School look like? 

How will it support Malvern’s Mission?

Tomorrow we will explain what our next steps will be and ask for feedback from our colleagues and mentors. Regardless of the reception, I am eager to get into the heart of our project. We are going to determine what things are essential to "The Malvern Experience" and work to find the best schedule (not just a schedule) to enhance 21st century learning at Malvern Prep. During the beginning of this process we all felt like we were trying to hammer a round peg into a square hole. At the end of the beginning we have purpose, enthusiasm, and direction. We are going to fix the square hole.