Page 8 - Mini-Module 1

Objectives

2. Take a critical look at the curriculum they are involved with
this week.
Knowing what you do about the lifespan of these students, what does
their curriculum need to look like, to ensure that they can be
successful, contented, and constructive in their lives beyond school?
What knowledge scaffold is essential for them to acquire now, what
competencies and skills, not least in attitude and in beliefs, must they
be helped to learn? What do they need to understand about the
geography, history, political systems, literature, language, religions and
belief systems, civic and global responsibilities of their own society and
of the world? Throughout the day (or the week), ask yourself
repeatedly how adequate, useful, and relevant the learning programs
your school provides are for this group of young people. In the light of
such a review, what are you prompted to do about the school’s
curriculum? Start the review at 9 a.m. on Monday morning.

3. Ask themselves how wisely they are using the unique skills of
each staff member.
By far, the biggest slice of your school’s total cost goes on staff salaries.
Are you getting value for that monetary outlay? Are you using the
talents of each staff member well? And if you cannot employ their
particular gifts fully at your school, how could you share those gifts
among other schools? Ask this question with your best staff members,
not with your worst. There is a trend now in knowledge organizations
to dispense with ‘position statements’ (or ‘duty statements’) and to
design the organization around the particular talents and expertise of
team members. Contract statements, yes, tailored to each staff
member, but not ‘position’ statements.
One certain way to waste talents is to impose the same work regime on
everyone, or to have a predetermined, conventional set of positions or
organizational roles. Are there activities required of staff, of individual
staff members, which amount to a waste of valuable resources? Are
they performing functions which someone else should do or could do?
So, from 9 a.m. on Monday morning, start to ask yourself questions
about the best deployment of every member on your staff, and then
share it with them individually.

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