The Vision For A School In Transformation

If we do not change our direction we're likely to end where we're headed.

The most important feature of a transforming organisation is that it has a 'Vision' or what I would like to call the school's desired future. We have to make the school an important societal change agent for the future, to bring about any transformation in learning and social development in any community or country. 

First and foremost we must list what a school vision must be:

1. The Vision must be initiated by the leader and developed with school personnel and all stakeholders.
2. It must provide future orientation.
3. Set an overarching direction.
4. Evoke an image of the future school.
5. Provide a standard of excellence, an ideal.
6. Is the vision, the basis for the unique contribution to students, to school personal, community, and society?
7. Vision should be shared and supported by the internal and external stakeholders.
8. The vision must be compelling and inspiring.
9. Finally, the vision must be living and even evolve further as the process of change creation rolls out.

Steve Jobs said, " Innovation requires a team, and you cannot inspire a team of passionate evangelists without a compelling vision; a vision that is bold, simple and consistently communicated."

Reading my lessons from Schools Can Change and understanding the work of Learning Forward, I have been able to crystallize a vision statement for The Fabindia School, and this is how the vision could read. "The Fabindia School will become a national leader in innovation by implementing new technologies in learning and offer affordable quality education." Another way to state the school vision could be "The Fabindia School will become a national leader in schools and become the favored destination for English learning in rural India." The first statement is compelling and inspiring, the second seems to me a statement of purpose, and explains to all the stakeholders what is in it for them. This perhaps is our goal and is indeed a part of our vision wherein we have set out to become an institution of excellence, and there is an element of dynamism in what we are doing. The vision thus sustains over an extended period of time and is the direction for the ongoing mission.

Learning Forward India Academy

Learning Forward India delivers a  structured Professional Development Programme (PDP) with the help of visiting faculty and experts, who take time out to work with the school staff and provide in-service training. The focus of the Learning Forward Academy is to have passionate educators train teachers to become learners. Please note this is not a brick and mortar project, the Academy is a learning environment, an ecosystem, we deliver the training with the help of blended learning, that comprises of online and offline.

Learning Forward Academy is an extended and profound learning experience that immerses members in a model of enquiry and problem-based learning. Academy members work collaboratively to gain knowledge to solve significant student learning problems in their schools, districts, or organisations. At The Learning Forward Academy, we seek to understand individual members' needs and then assist them in meeting objectives through a collaborative learning environment and the support of experienced coaches.

Duration

Four hours a week (three weeks a month) = 12 hours X 8 months = 96 hours.
Also, in the school holidays, a training camp for six hours a day for 24 days adds up to 144 hours.

Process

The training programme comprises of workshops, lectures, conferences, exchanges, research, outward bound excursions, eLearning and finding solutions to not only teach but learn and help the school deliver better.

Outcome and Certification

240 (96+144) hours of training will empower an educator/school staff to deliver better in the Classroom and upgrade their skills on the job.

Step up the PDP ladder!
96 hours - Bronze Level (Level 1)
144 hours - Silver Level (Level 2)
240 hours - Gold Level (Level 3)

We acknowledge each level of achievement by the teacher with a Certificate. This offers the necessary challenge and the rewards the teachers for the extra effort put in, beyond the call of the duty at school.

For further details, please contact Devanjali by email schooleducation@outlook.com.

The First Princi.pal

"Our minds are shaped by the books we read. Our characters, by the people we meet. Our spirits by the love we give", - Robin Sharma 

This prompted me to share the lessons from the book The First Princi.pal - Based on the life and times of PS Mani Sundaram and presented to me by Sunil Malhotra the author himself. Am taking the liberty of quoting from the book as this is a requiem for leadership, it is a story of the teacher in each of us, the leader within and the principles of the Principal.

Princi is that invisible great walking along a crowded beach as the waves wash away the footprints in their wake. His are the only footprints that will endure stubbornly. Like the man himself. Leaving his stamp of greatness on eternity. 
10 Lessons for school leadership:

1. Great leaders act decisively.

2. Empower people and provide the enablement to allow them to discover their own potential.

3. Keep the environment clean to induce orderly and productive behavior.

4. Let them be but don't let go of them.

5. Get the job done instead of trying to change people.

6. Measure the extent of social integration by the integrity of your culture.

7. An institution is built on values that last beyond the lifetimes of its makers.

8. Spirit of the law is more important than the letter.

9. Never let personal friendship compromise over professional responsibility and vice versa.

10 No act of kindness is small. Acts of caring can turn lives around.

Finally, the lyrics of Pink Floyd will top it all!

We don't need no education,

We don't need no self control,

No dark sarcasm in the classroom,

Teacher leave them kids alone.

Learning Is Moving From Isolation To Collaboration

Learning happens when we begin our journey in the world as individuals and learn to collaborate. No learning will ever occur in isolation; learning is nothing but a collaborative exercise that perhaps helps you become a thinking person. Knowledge is a product while learning is the relentless pursuit of developing one's abilities and an effort to understand the ways of the world.

Learning is a process and not an event, individuals accomplish it, is indeed a highly personal experience, involves developmental growth and is best understood as the change we go through in our journey of life. Most important point to note is that ‘learning is greater than change.' For learning to thrive, we need to adapt, mindset and behavior itself need to change.

In isolation we are cocooned from the need to move beyond our comfort zone, we need to break out and learn to challenge ourselves to deliver as a team player. The community is indeed a reflection of individuals that make up the society. It is how we collaborate, that brings about transformational change and helps us grow as individuals and community too. A school of ants can work to move the largest obstacle, in isolation a single ant may not have all the wherewithal to make a difference.

Ant societies have a division of labor, communication between individuals, and ability to solve complex problems.These parallels with human societies have long been an inspiration and subject of study. Humans are social beings and need to connect, communicate, collaborate to create. Learning will only happen when we work together. The human form is itself brought about when the isolated sperm meets the egg, thus further confirming the fact that ‘isolation’ is not the DNA of any life form.