The Struth

Annelies Hoogland and I are attending the EARCOS Administrators Conference in Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia this weekend….. yes- a difficult assignment!

This afternoon we are leading an Elementary School administrators job-alike session on leadership. Hmmm…. a bit of a broad topic! We have brought along with us an article by Tony Wagner about how schools are failing to prepare students for success in the 21st century. In addition to this, we just attended a session by Dennis Harter discussing the same topic; what skill set do our students need to have upon graduation from our schools and are we giving them opportunities to learn these skills?

Sitting at breakfast this morning, Annelies and I discussed the same question- are we preparing kids for success in an exponentially changing world? Answer: NO!

How could we change schools to address these needs?

One idea- start over. Completely change schools. OK- not going to happen right now.

Another idea- continue to ask questions like this and collaborate to figure out the answer even though it will NEVER be black and white. Likely the real road and one that we will continue to follow?

Nutty idea- ensure that teachers and administrators take a mandatory sabbatical every 5 years, and place them in the worksforce so they can get an idea of what kind of skills our students really need to be successful. Skills such as asking questions, being collaborative and flexible, learning how to influence others, problem solving, knowing how we learn best and being connected.
How powerful would this alternative be in showing teachers how outdated our school system is? Would they then understand that preparing for tests and teaching content is outdated?

Something to think about….. perhaps.

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