We are here because this is where we want to be.
What’s wrong with our educational system? Our children our learning from sick textbooks. We have school heads who are more of order takers than leaders. And we have transactional teachers whose aims are simply to get things done.
The answer is undiscussable. No one can question the authority of a principal. No teacher would dare ask “what’s wrong?”
While studying the touchstone principles of adaptive leadership, I imagined that we are where we are today because we expected to be here. You only need to look at the goals of every school superintendent, of every school principal, of every teacher… and you will get motherhood and vague statements.
Our educational leaders are meeting their standards. They tried to reach as far as their eyes can see. To them, our children are not left behind. Their data can tell us that many of them have “gone beyond expectations”.
There is no urgency to change.
The children are our future; we have to prepare them for the future. But who will do this? Our educational leaders are meeting the expectations of the past today? How can they create a better future when many of them aren’t ready for the future? How can they embrace change when they aren’t ready to give up the status quo?
We need to make change happen now.
We have to stop stealing our children’s dreams. We need transformational teachers. We need future-oriented school leaders.