THE_FOUR_EMERGENT_NON_NEGOTIABLES_FOR_SCHOOLS

It is no longer news that the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic has forced institutions / schools to adopt an “Emergency Remote Learning Programme”. 

As you read the post below, consider these questions:

👉 What platform(s) will our school put in place to make learning more effective and holistic? 

👉 How will our school prepare today's learners to be excellent leaders in the future? 

Although many people that I know that are parents, change their views on schools, I think mine has been reaffirmed in what I believe is essential. 

So after when the lockdown is lifted (in the post COVID-19 era):

1. Schools should deliberately be a welcoming and warm environment : -

As someone who goes into schools often, I can get a feeling of the culture within a few minutes. Whether it is talking to the Secretary or Management or Principals, or seeing what is on the walls when I walk into the building, the culture permeates through all pores of the building. In my own experience as a student, one of my favorite people in school was the custodian of my school where I studied in 10th (Head of school /Headmaster /Principal of SSP High School Dakhinaradas). He went out of his way every day to talk to the students, learn about them, and have a good relationship. Every adult makes every child feel important, whether it is making connections with them during supervision or acknowledging them as you pass them in the hallway. I believe this should start with the principal, but it is something that should be expected from all staff. Learn names, make our students feel welcome and valued, and create a space where students want to be. Without this, other factors don’t matter much.

2. Schools should develop students as good people and learners : -

Building on the above point, it is imperative that schools not only should develop children as learners but as great people. Many would argue that this is the role of the parents/guardians at home, and although I agree it is imperative at home, it is not the responsibility of either home or school, it is that we develop both. It truly takes a village community agreement to make it happen. As I have always said, if schools only teach students the curriculum, we have failed them. This is not to say that people and students will not make mistakes, but that they develop empathy and understanding for others, and learn to become considerate and kind for others as well. As you can see below, both becoming a learner and a better person, can be taught at the same time.

 

3. Schools should model the learning they expect from their students : -

One of my favorite quotes that I have prepared recently by myself is, “We expect innovation from every organization except the ones we work in.”

As many people discuss, the continuous growth that is expected from all professionals should be expected from educators as well. I have seen tremendous growth in schools in the past 07 years of my experience, and I think the biggest reason for this is access to one another, and not access to information alone. There are no better people to learn from regarding any profession than those currently working within that same field. With so many educators at all levels sharing what they are doing during this lockdown period, there has been a significant shift in what is happening in many schools. As teachers expect students to grow and become comfortable with change, this needs to be modeled in what we do every day.

A professional is anyone who does work that cannot be standardized easily and who continuously welcomes challenges at the cutting edge of his or her expertise.

Educators need to put their learning at the forefront to ensure that schools go beyond being relevant to students. Still, they immerse students in the reality of their current world, while preparing them for the future.

4. Schools stoke curiosity, not extinguish it : -

School should not be the end of learning, but only part of the beginning. Do our students develop an insatiable curiosity to grow, ask questions, challenge ideas, create, innovate, collaborate, and become the “problem finder and solver” now and in the future? When some adults say to me, “young people are just smarter with technology,” I tell them directly, “not at all…they are just more willing to try.” My fear is that willingness to poke around, ask questions, and press buttons to see what happens eventually is “schooled” out of them. 

Curiosity leads to intelligence: Curiosity is, therefore, strongly correlated with intelligence.

For instance, one longitudinal study of 1,795 children measured intelligence and curiosity when they were three years old, and then again eight years later. Researchers found that children who had been equally intelligent at age three were, at eleven, no longer equal. The ones who’d been more curious at three were now also more intelligent, which isn’t terribly surprising when you consider how curiosity drives the acquisition of knowledge.

The more interested and alert and engaged we are, the more we’re likely to learn and retain. In fact, highly curious children scored full points higher on IQ tests than less curious ones did.

We do not need to spark the fire of curiosity of children in school; they show up curious from day one. We just need to be sure that we fan the flame and not extinguish it. 

As we often talk about “21st Century Schools” and preparing students for the future, I think the above list is just as applicable today, especially in the post COVID-19 era. The world just looks different, and like the rest of the world changes along with it, schools need to ensure that these foundational ideas do not become obsolete by depending upon the same delivery that has been used years prior. Schools should not only embrace change but if we are to stay relevant, they must also consistently create it for the sake of students today and in the future.