Craft Schools
What if schools (why not education in general) were run by craftspeople? As Henrietta Thompson writes, “From houses to handbags, models of consumption are changing. Increasingly, we look to borrow rather than buy to ease the pressure on our over-burdened storage units, savings accounts, and souls. But, while many learn to make do with less, as with any major trend there is also big business to be found on the flip-side: collecting.” (Trends, Business Life, February 2019).
Contagious
Being brave is not a risk. After all, that’s how you stand out. “It’s more of a risk to blend in because nobody notices you.” So goes the seemingly counter-intuitive advice in The Contagious Commandments, co-authored by Paul Kemp-Robertson and Chris Barth. Schools would do well to heed the risk of blending in. The tome is full of ‘commandments,’ a series of admonitions that result in a positive impact, whether that is increased brand awareness, attitudes toward a brand, or performance.
The Changing Face of Competition for Schools
You may not be aware of the next-generation challengers to the traditional international school model. A recent report from SSATB (now: The Enrollment Management Association) highlights a number of new models to ponder from the perspective of competition. These are not putative or theoretical models of how we might do school -- they exist and they're gaining ground. They are expanding. They have proof of concept.