Some reflections and lessons from this blog so far. Including nine ‘management maxims’ and some daily prompts.
Measurement
The practical value and harm of a measurement system does not seem solely tied to its validity. It is equally dependent on the consequences attached to the measurement.
To be led by lions
There’s a danger in using schools to change society. It’s tempting: children are the future, after all. But it is also risky to prepare young people for the society we wish existed rather than the one they will actually find themselves in.
Popularity
Popularity in leadership is a contradiction. We rightly prize the leader who does not court popularity, who makes difficult decisions and does what is right. At the same time, in free societies, people only really lead by consent and, without a certain level of confidence and respect, leaders cannot do their jobs.
Exam reform
The system or the student? This blog is written with the benefit of hindsight and the luxury of not being accountable. I don’t pretend to have warned this would happen or have any easy answers. The problem this year was that we tried to act as if exams were being sat when they weren’t. A […]
Wellbeing
The dictionary says wellbeing is the state of being comfortable, healthy or happy. As hinted at with the use of the word “comfortable”, the happiness is usually taken as sustained contentment.
Crisis 12: Matthew’s on the computer
The reality of digital intervention in education has often fallen short of the claims. Yet I’ve been impressed with some brilliant uses of technology during the lockdown. Oak National Academy, for example, and the generosity of trusts like Greenshaw and schools like Parklands. Our own experience of delivering a fully virtual Summer Institute to 1699 […]
Unstoppable forces
This is a blog for the Education Leadership Collective. “If, say, one hundred headteachers in a town or city wanted to stand up for something reasonable, I don’t think anything could stop them. The power of collective action is clear. I don’t need to belabour that. Yet this level of unity is rare…” Unstoppable Forces […]
Thank you
We hear a lot about competition and rivalry in education, about heated debate and disagreement. Beneath all that, education is basically full of outstanding people trying to do the right thing with the limited resources that they have available. I know Teach First can be a bit marmite. And we often plough our furrow in […]
Long term thinking
It is amazing how seemingly intractable conflicts disappear with the right timeframe. If only you can play a long enough game, you can almost have it all. If we could build longer term thinking into our organisations we would see a sustained improvement in performance and welfare.
Note to self 