Ever heard of the "committed sardines"?
In a school of sardines, only 10-15% change direction first. But that small group causes the entire mass to shift.
Ian Jukes used this metaphor to describe how organizations transform. It's been on our minds at LearnButWhy lately.
Here's why: We're building LearnButWhy in the middle of massive uncertainty in education. The system we all grew up with is straining under pressure it wasn't designed to hold. What comes next is still not clear.
This is what we could call a liminal space - the uncomfortable place between what was and what's emerging. Nothing is formed yet, but everything is possible.
If you're an educator experimenting despite the constraints, a school leader creating space for something new, or a parent looking for alternatives - you're likely to feel this uncertainty. It can even feel like being trapped.
But what if this chaos is an opportunity?
Complex adaptive systems - such as the education system - do not jump from one state into another, but need to reorganize. They reach a breaking point, then shift to a new equilibrium.
The chaos we're experiencing is also a process of reorganization, not a breakdown. We explored this pattern in depth in Education Needs a Redesign discussing how systems reach breaking points before reorganizing at higher levels.
When we understand this, uncertainty becomes a trigger for curiosity. The liminal space becomes a place to explore and experiment, knowing that everything we do within the system has an effect.
Tools that could help us exist in the liminal space
1. Shift your perspective
See the chaos for what it is: a system reorganizing toward something new.
This is not just optimism. It's about understanding the mechanics of transformation. When we understand that chaos precedes breakthrough, uncertainty evokes curiosity instead of fear.
2. Reflect and experiment
Watch yourself experiment. Play within the boundaries. Try things.
We're not looking for perfect answers - but participating in the system's reorganization. There will be discomfort as something new is trying to emerge.
Improvisation teaches us that the liminal space isn't something to fear. On the contrary, it's where all creativity lives. (Btw, thanks to Berrak Yedek and Beliz Demircioglu for helping me internalize this)
3. Connect and share - because we can't do this alone
This is what the committed sardines metaphor really teaches: We need our small group.
A single committed sardine can't shift the school. We need our 10-15% - the others who are also ready to turn, even when the direction isn't fully clear yet.
Why? Because the system pulls us back. It's self-correcting, self-justifying.
Even when we change our mindset (#1 above) or experiment in our own practice (#2 above), the system keeps pulling us toward the old patterns. Sometimes even penalizes us for trying alternatives.
Fear leads us to taking small steps, shrinking our vision of what's possible. (Read more: Education Beyond Fear.)
Community is what sustains us in this transformation
The system is too strong and self-correcting to navigate alone. We need a space to experiment together, learn from each other, set examples for each other...
...where people actually listen to each other - the kind of listening that creates the psychological safety for real inquiry and experimentation.
...where people not only accept us as we are, but constantly remind us that the alternative exists and works.
This is what makes the difference between burning out alone and transforming together.
The 10% is enough
And remember, we don't need to convince everyone, we don't need the whole system to change at once.
We need to find our committed sardines. When enough of us start operating differently, the whole system follows.
That's what LearnButWhy exists to do - create and support communities for the committed sardines. Spaces where educators, school leaders and parents can turn together, support each other and lead the shift rather than wait for it.
Welcome to The Why.
This is the first issue of our bi-weekly newsletter. We're here to explore what it means to transform learning & education for humans in the fast-changing, increasingly AI-dominated 21st century. Not only through theory, but through a journey of building, experimenting and learning together.
Know other committed sardines? Forward this to them. Let's grow this community one person at a time with the ones who are ready to turn.
