As I write this, I'm a bit jazzed. I love inspirational stories. Who doesn't? They're about people — from all different places and backgrounds — with their backs up against the wall: the underdogs … the ones that have been given up on … the underachievers. After watching the series finale of the NBC show "The Biggest Loser," you have to be inspired.

I’m not a reality show person. Many, if not most, of them turn into ridiculous exercises of absurdity. If ten pampered celebrities want to live in the jungle, fine by me. In fact, I think they should go — and stay permanently.

But there’s something different about "The Biggest Loser." People on this show are in bad shape: physically overweight, mentally beat down and emotionally drained. The goal: to stay on the show for as many weeks as they can and lose the most percentage of their weight possible. Watching the changes that take place in these individuals is amazing and just short of a miracle. Some contestants lose half of their original weight, and others hit the goal they set. The people that participate are transformed — not only because of weight loss, but due to behavioral changes that a quick fix diet can't offer.

We need that type of inspiration in education, especially in our educational leaders.  Most of the time, I am extremely positive and optimistic about where we are going because I see many innovative thinkers, teachers and students. But then I turn on the news and see the same tired, dysfunctional approach in cities such as Detroit (I live outside of Detroit and I love the area, but Detroit Public Schools, you have to wake up). I want to scream, "WHERE'S THE INSPIRATION? WHERE’S THE DESIRE TO IMPROVE?"

Educational leaders have to make a choice to improve. School boards have to think out of the box. Once they make the choice, they have to stick with it. The people on "The Biggest Loser" would probably say that once the choice is made to improve, it's the most rewarding and difficult decision to have made. But for our students, aren't they worth it? If a school board member loses an election, but students have a better learning model because of a stance that school board member took, isn’t that worth the choice?

Here's my theory, take it or leave it. Student-centered schools, districts and programs will be the ones thriving and excelling over the next decade. School approaches that focus on the selfish needs of unauthentic leaders and archaic school models will die out or be forced to close. This will happen because they followed the uninspiring status quo. That's fine, let them close and shut down. People follow inspiration and that's where students will go — where they are inspired to learn, collaborate, build and innovate. What will come from these students (and the teachers that lead them) will be so inspiring that maybe a reality show will be created for transformational schools. Now that's a reality I would watch.

P.S. The T-baller from last week’s blog broke his wrist over the weekend and is out for the season, but he thought it was really cool to be on the Converge Web site.