On Monday Chris Brogan wrote a post, Throw Away the Maps, that reminded me of an analogy that I’ve often made in my own presentations, but have only hinted at in blog posts until now. In Throw Away the Maps, Brogan tells readers to work toward something larger and more meaningful than your job description.

I love to watch re-runs of M.A.S.H. whenever I get a chance (not having a television at home, that’s not very often). I’ve always connected with Alan Alda’s character Captain Hawkeye Pierce. Hawkeye was the best surgeon in camp, but not the best soldier in the Army’s eyes because he had a tendency to ignore Army rules if they were in the way of delivering best care to his patients or if they were in the way of being a humanitarian. As educators there are times when organizational rules might stand in the way of providing the best educational experiences for our students. When that happens will you choose to be like Hawkeye?

I often use the above analogy in response to questions about cell phones in schools. You can read about some of my experiences with cell phones in schools here.