Schools have always been a matter of serious to very serious discussion among the parents and even the businesses related to or dependent on schools.
Most importantly, since the 90s. When the world dived into industrialization and digitalization. The increasing pace of competitive life style and hence paradigm shift in the cultural and human values across all forums.
When schools became the matter of pride and later the matter of investment, the world started looking at schools for almost everything. Be it smartness or be it sophistication. People proudly started declaring and boasting about their kid's school. The costlier the school, the louder the boasting.
As a result of this aura of ignorance, schools started focusing on what people want from them and not what the time wants from them. This led schools to a point of no return.
Repairing became difficult and in the competitive environment of ' being better than the other', innovation and its integration proved to be a fiasco.
The entire focus of schools went into 'being different' rather than being what it should be. This also led schools to lose its focus on what it should do. Trying too hard to create a better admission market for themselves, schools lost their credibility to a greater extent because they started following their competitors (especially in their vicinity). They went into a mob of adding newer things which are hot in the market and they all simply landed into the category of ' having everything but nothing'.
Here comes the factor where in schools need to look into, when iam writing 'schools' actually mean school promoters a, investors and senior leaderships.
Let me come to the harsh question now.....
What it takes for a school ?
Infrastructure?
Investment?
Innovation?
My answer is "CULTURE".
Its the culture that the school cultivates, creates and integrates it with everything else. to an extent. Like life, schools too are the place of self learning through drip irrigation system. If flooded, it gets flushed out.
If schools invest about a third portion of their focus on other things,
their sufferings will alleviate to a great extent. Every change that the school does or makes should take time to get physiologically integrated with all the stake holders and most importantly , the learners.
One change needs to give way to the other change and there has to be a respectable duration in between. Unless these changes are patiently taken up, they aren't going to render desired results.
Now, what it takes for the school to grow?
everything that the school does or thinks to do is to be implemented by and through the teachers. And when the staffroom is full of ambiguity related to the changes and innovation, the chances of desired significant growth is feeble.
The culture of a school is the most integral entity that no one can steal. And unfortunately its the senior leadership that has to augment the efforts to develop one.
The transparency in training the teachers for a change, making the teachers paramount in the school, making the teachers feel honored to be there in the school and most importantly treating the teachers they deserve.
Every alumni of the school takes with them the academics but what they value for life is the culture of the school.
the attrition and discontinuity rates of Schools are increasing every minute in the country like India. And , to me, its the culture of the school more than other secondary factors like money and all.
Schools of today have to look into this a little more judiciously. School consultants can suggest ways and means but they can't create entities like culture.
They can fire and hire for schools. Change the measurable factors of the school but they cannot create anything. Especially culture.
Culture is the essence of existence, survival and growth of the schools today.
A culture of learning acceptance for change.
A culture of respect and human values.
A culture of love for learners.
A culture of fearless teachers.
