Nerf guns and change: The power of collective action

I’m a mom, which means I have had the joy of Nerf gun battles. I have learned the hard way that the amount of ammunition you stuff in your pockets and the number of people willing to jump in and help results in a win or an exhausting loss.

So yesterday when I had a glorious few hours with teachers and leaders to plan our upcoming ISTE presentation it is no surprise that Nerf bullets were scattered around my work space (we met at my in-home office).

As we were discussing our upcoming presentation, which focuses on community inspired change, I had a thought.

“What would happen if we approached change like we approach Nerf battles?”

Confused? I was too. Until I grabbed the two Nerf guns I had in my mind and snapped a picture.

Here’s the thing. These two Nerf guns demonstrate a dichotomy in the way we approach change: we can create change with one or with many.

When we think about change we often go with the “silver bullet” and “single shooter” approach where we choose our weapon of choice (usually a dreamy vision of perfection that is focused on one component of…