Feel Small and Out of Your Depth
As educationalists, we are (supposedly) all about growth and development. We tend to think of the growth and development of children, but what about our own? It may be a great professional development experience to serve on an industry-related board, or to serve as a workshop facilitator, but do such opportunities force us out of our comfort zone? Are we stretching our thinking, or are we truly remaining in the same box we've always been in?
Powering Ahead: Alternative School Models
The Alternative School Models that will be successful will be those that rely on network thinking as a core design principle. Like Tesla, who has built charging stations in order to provide the requisite power for their all-electric cars, ASMs that create and utilise platforms (from student information systems to learning software to other softwares not yet named) that enable all their schools (and parents and students…all ‘users’) to tap into them on a daily basis will gain ground quickly, scaling in ways that incumbent schools have not anticipated.
A Flawed Question
I encountered a thoughtful comparison in a recent magazine article. A futurist had written about how difficult it had become to explain one’s job to one’s parents. He wrote, “I think you have to treat the world like one of those drone flights. Drones are small and, although quite feisty, can be blown about by the wind. Getting one to where you want to go involves setting a course, yes, but also reacting to the local conditions as you fly. Sometimes you’ll be blown one way, and sometimes you’ll be blown another, and you’ll never really ever be directly on course” (Business Life, June 2017, 26).
Measure the Treasure: Leadership Transition
Now begins the second, and arguably the most important, phase of the search process: schools and the newly-appointed head of school need to confront the realities of the appointment. Too many heads and boards consider the process as being ‘in the past,’ but, in reality, nothing could be less accurate…or less dangerous, as a perspective. Now is the crucial moment when boards and heads must chart the best way forward, relative to what we might term the FQ, the fit quotient.
Digital Lipstick
It's akin to stating that you've got a 1:1 (iPad, laptop, etc) programme, yet any visitor to any classroom would see students doing the same exercises as before, just on a computer instead of with pencil and paper. One of my personal favourites: "we have a learning management system." Look at how it is used. If teachers are required to post homework and/or a syllabus there, and share the odd announcement, what do we have? Lipstick on a legacy pig.